'Outrage' over unauthorised works in South Downs

Caravans and works on a site in the South Downs National Park have sparked concerns

Caravans and motorhomes have appeared in a field in the South Downs National Park which was levelled and turned into an unauthorised work site.

Workers cleared the site before adding gravel and what appears to be a septic tank on land near Blind Lane in Lurgashall, Petworth, over the weekend despite Chichester District Council officers serving a notice to stop.

A council spokesperson said: "As the notice has been breached, and caravans have now entered the site, we are taking further legal steps including seeking an injunction through the courts."

Opponents including South Downs MP Andrew Griffith criticised the works as an "illegal breach of all respected planning standards and behaviour".

The council added: "We take these matters incredibly seriously. We have planning rules in place to protect areas of countryside in our district, including the South Downs National Park, and if harmful development is carried out then we will take appropriate enforcement action.

"We want to assure the community that we are doing everything in our power to respond to this. We will also be working with those on the site, local parish councils, and the local community, to offer support."

A digger and a septic tank at the site

Workers arrived at the site on Friday with machinery and cleared and levelled the green site in the middle of the South Downs National Park, which the council described as "unauthorised engineering operations".

A council planning officer later posted a second notice on the gate of the site on Monday while three men continued working.

Stricter planning regulations exist in national parks such as the South Downs, with applications submitted to the National Park Authority rather than the local council.

A spokesperson for the South Downs National Park Authority said it was "appalled" by the works and was working in partnership with Chichester District Council on the issue.

The council added: "We take breaches of planning and unauthorised development very seriously and will continue to work together to resolve the situation."

A council officer delivering a stop notice to the site

Mr Griffith, MP for Arundel and the South Downs, said: "I completely share the outrage and concern of residents about this illegal breach of all respected planning standards and behaviour.

"It makes a mockery of a system where we all jump through lengthy and costly hoops to install a dormer window when such brazen breaches happen unchecked."

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said officers had also attended the site but that the issue was a civil matter and it was liaising with local authorities.