South Downs National Park Forum - Sustainable Transport Survey.

I have just posted the following reply to Allison Thorpe of SDNPA who has asked for comments about sustainable transport and invited forum members to contribute to an on line survey @ http://southdownsforum.ning.com/forum/topics/survey-on-sustainable-.... There is a question about sustainable access to the South Downs National Park... Please join the forum and contribute if you can since this is very relevant to our proposal...

Thank you for your invitation to contribute to the forum survey. I’m a founder member of The Ouse Valley Cycle Network which developed from a Village Connections initiative earlier this year and has been praised as a good example of localism in action! Our keen volunteers are drawn from a diverse range of local organisations who have all identified an urgent need for sustainable shared cycle route/connections through this beautiful valley which is traversed by the South Downs Way.
Our vision is to develop safe, sustainable, shared village connections from the channel port of Newhaven to the County Town of Lewes. Promoting economic regeneration through development of a sustainable international gateway to the South Downs National Park, drawing attention to the local benefits of green tourism in line with SDNPA and Newhaven port masterplan objectives. OVCN hope to be included in the SDNPA/ESCC/LSTF bid - Sustainable Access to the South Downs National Park as well as any others which cover our area... just in case!
Thanks to the kind help of our regional SDNPA manager we are now a constituted organisation with Sustainable Communities start up funding. We have commissioned a Sustrans technical feasibility study for a riverside route and have good support from local landowners. Our plan is deliberately pragmatic, making the most of existing trails whilst developing a long term link in phased stages. The Environment Agency are happy for us to work with them as they improve Ouse valley flood defences. Newhaven and Lewes links are both deliverable at an early stage.
Community consultation has underpinned our efforts throughout and the SDNPA Community Strategy Dept have helped us to draw on the ingenuity of the local community to gather ideas for a very creative presentation which will accompany the detailed Sustrans study as part of our project proposal. Ouse valley forum members are welcome to contribute to our World cafe workshop at the Hillcrest centre in Newhaven next week.
As you know, Local Sustainable Transport Funding requires innovative projects which can be delivered within three years. Good communication between local authorities and community led organisations will be crucial as we consolidate our work to deliver to the team preparing LSTF bids at SDNPA and ESCC. Well done for including the forum in this process - It would also be great if the OVCN Steering group could meet the team preparing the bid - we are very keen to help!
Co-ordination at this stage will also encourage the efforts of our group in future... Although we have a big vision, we do understand that only a small part of this can be achieved through LSTF, there must be great need for sustainable transport throughout the South Downs National Park. We hope that our pragmatic approach will be recognised by the planning authorities. We will propose some deliverable small scale, low tech projects. Improved shared cycle track signposting/gates from Newhaven and Lewes stations would be a good start... and would also signpost OVCN/SDNPA/ESCC future intentions - the most basic need if we really wish to promote sustainable transport choices in the Ouse valley.
Working together for the common good could also be facilitated generally through a new infrastructure network delivering key skills and professional advice for new community organisations. The SDNPA forum could get this started by setting up a community project zone - an information exchange for those newly active in the Big Society in the South Downs National Park? There may well be many people willing to get involved in a collaboration of this kind which could help us to share knowledge.... I hope to develop this idea further elsewhere in response to requests for how we might make the most of this now well established forum in future. Looking forward to hearing what others think about this...
Susan Thompson.
www.ovcn.org.uk
www.villageconnections.ning.com