Home is where the park is for Mark

Mark Seymour, 41, has been appointed as project manager for the Pebsham Country Park project which will seek to recreate the current landfill site between Hastings and Bexhill as a protected green space when it goes out of use in four years time.

And to say Mark has come in from the cold would be more than a figure of speech - before returning to his native land he spent 12 years working on forestry and rural development projects in Finland!

Now the former Claverham and Bexhill College student has been charged with formulating a ten-year plan to bring the park to life.

He will also come up with the series of stages by which the whole country park dream can become a reality and the first of those is the involvement of all the various interested groups who will help create the overall vision of the Pebsham Country Park.

After that, signposts and public information will appear on the site and a wider consultation process will begin.

Mark is relishing the task ahead of him and he told the Observer: "There is a lot of work to do on this project, but I'm confident we will be able to create a fantastic park for everyone to enjoy."

And he added: "It's great to be working in the area I grew up in."

Mark was appointed by the steering group for the park project, comprising members of Hastings, Rother and the county councils, which learned earlier this year that the scheme had won more than 200,000 of European funding over two years.

County councillor Matthew Lock said: "This is going to be a real asset for people to have on their doorstep, as well as an environmentally sound visitor attraction.

"There's lots of scope for the site and we'll be working with local young people to make sure there's something for everyone."