Pebsham Park - exciting ideas

The park is a joint project by East Sussex County Council with Hastings and Rother councils, backed by 330,000 of grant aid from Southern Water.

Public consultation has revealed that 87% of the public are in favour of the park, county principal landscape architect Nigel Marshall said, with 66% putting wildlife watching as their first preference.

But in Crowhurst, 63% of those responding were against the scheme, which had now been amended to exclude the village recreation ground in the park because of fears that its car park would be swamped by visitors.

The aim remained to preserve the green gap between Bexhill and St Leonards and, in partnership with private landowners, to improve access to 600 hectares which included important wetlands and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Together with consultant Dr Simon Woodward, Mr Marshall showed by means of plans and aerial pictures projected on screen, how it was proposed to zone the land.

Car parking would be at the southern approach from Freshfields, the tip access road.

But St Michael's ward member Cllr Peter Fairhurst was told that although landfill was scheduled to end in 2008, public access to the park would have to be separated from refuse freighters using the planning waste materials transfer station on the old waste-derived fuel pellet plant site.

The park concept now included an extended "coastal park" to take in marine features like the fossilised forest and the 1749 wreck of the Dutch East Indiaman the Amsterdam.

Simon Woodward outlined an "eight to nine-year" framework for setting up the park.

Current thinking is for a 20-member management board plus "technical panels" responsible for conservation, access and recreation and business and tourism.

He foresaw minor investment work in improving access this year; major access investment by 2008-2010; a "Pebsham Centre" built by 2011 and an environment centre by 2014.

He warned that Southern Water's 330,000 had to be spent by 2010.