Park in £1.8m funding boost to support key Sussex projects
New cycling and walking routes, are among community projects to benefit from a funding boost from the South Downs National Park Authority.
A raft of initiatives across Sussex and Hampshire are set to benefit from a fund set up and administered by the SDNPA called the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which is paid by developers to support new local infrastructure.
Eight individual projects are set to receive a share of just over £900,000, while just over £600,000 has been earmarked to support community infrastructure projects for Hampshire County Council, West Sussex County Council and East Sussex County Council.
In addition to the £1.5million, a further £280,000 has been given to 33 parishes for their own projects.
Community infrastructure covers a wide range of purposes, including transport, access, education, community buildings, climate change mitigation, green infrastructure such as tree planting, and recreation.
Among the projects will be an extension of the popular Centurion Way, following the former Chichester to Midhurst railway line. The works will create a new 5.3km path from West Dean to the South Downs Way at Cocking – giving cyclists and walkers disabled-friendly year-round access into the heart of stunning countryside.
Tim Slaney, director of planning at the South Downs National Park Authority, said: “We began a new decade for the national park by announcing some significant CIL funding and we’re pleased to be finishing 2020 with this good news.
“Good infrastructure, particularly around access, recreation and wellbeing, can make a real difference to the quality of people’s lives. A number of these projects will significantly improve access to the countryside, helping more people to connect with nature and reap the health and wellbeing benefits.
“After such a difficult year for so many people, I hope we can all agree that access to this beautiful landscape has provided great comfort and will continue to do so in the years ahead.
“The Community Infrastructure Levy is one of the cornerstones of our role as a planning authority, ensuring benefits flow from any acceptable development.
“It’s wonderful to be able to help so many communities with such a varied range of projects.”
The fresh CIL funding comes after a previous tranche of funding, announced last January, benefited 20 projects across Sussex and Hampshire that took a share of £550,000.
All the CIL funding has been drawn from developers’ contributions taken from the 2019/2020 financial year.
Aside from the £500,000 Centurion Way scheme, Sussex projects include:
Washington Link Footpath – to provide an ‘offroad’ route (open to walkers, horseriders and cyclists) between Washington Village and the South Downs Way at Washington Bostal Car Park. £166,700.
Iping Common – to upgrade the three entry points and paths to improve access to the Common, including drainage improvement works and resurfacing the entrance points using Fittleworth Stone. £19,000.
A total of £283,726.44 in CIL funding has also been allocated to West Sussex County Council.