The South Downs National Park sits in a beautiful part of Southern England, and being in the South it is in one of the most economically vibrant areas in the UK, after London.  This means a lot of challenges for our planning team.  Working in a unique partnership with 10 local authorities within the National Park boundaries we must ensure we achieve the right balance between environmental, social and economic outcomes and that future developments in the park are managed sympathetically meeting the needs of the whole community – residents; visitors and businesses.  They must achieve all this within the framework of protecting the natural environment, diversity and unique beauty of the landscape.