LETTER: Misrepresented on spring issue

With regards to work carried out at the Virgin Mary Spring in Petworth, the position of the South Downs National Park Authority is being misrepresented.

Rights of Way within the National Park continue to be managed by West Sussex County Council, which chose not to delegate these to the NPA when it went live in 2011.

As the Rights of Way authority, WSCC conceived and commissioned the scheme, and it did not and does not require consultation with, or agreement from, the NPA.

The work done was undertaken in good faith by the South Downs Volunteer Ranger Service.

If the town council now feels that the work carried out is inappropriate in scale and design it may be appropriate to remove all or part of it. However, this would require agreement with WSCC as the commissioning body.

Andrew Lee

Director of Countryside Policy and Management

South Downs National Park Authority

South Downs Centre

North Street

Midhurst