On Wednesday 7th July the first meeting of the new South Downs Partnership (SDP) took place. The former SDP seemed to have been abandoned some years ago. The objective of the SDP is to provide a high-level group of experienced individuals who work alongside the authority to champion the delivery of the Partnership Management Plan (PMP), reaching out to new audiences and provide strategic input.
The new chair, Clare Moriarty, an experienced ex-senior civil servant (at one point Permanent Secretary of Defra) who is now CEO of Citizens’ Advice and lives in the South Downs National Park area. See below for a list of the members of the SDP.
The PMP provides the starting point for the work of the SDP, its ten outcomes and the five-year priorities under each capturing the plans of the many organisations who have committed to undertake projects. The new SDP will consider the four key challenges for the authority (nature recovery, climate change, health/inclusion and the rural economy. At their first meeting an update was given on the Glover Review, the Defra work behind the scenes and the recent Ministerial Written statement by George Eustice in advance of the forthcoming public consultation on the Glover Review. A report was made by officers on the nature recovery work programme of the Authority and the successful launch of the Renature campaign.
The next meeting of the group will be in September. It will have an annual cycle of four meetings.