This is why wild camping plan would be a disaster for the South Downs according to MP

Responding to reports that a future Labour Government plans to pass laws allowing wild camping in all the UK’s National Parks, Andrew Griffith the Member of Parliament for Arundel and the South Downs – a predominantly rural constituency within West Sussex – has said they simply ‘do not understand the countryside’.

On Friday August 4, The Guardian reported that Labour would extend the right to wild camp to all national parks if elected, following the restoration of the right on Dartmoor by the high court.

The shadow environment minister, Alex Sobel, is quoted by the newspaper: “Labour would legislate so that people visiting national parks have the right to wild camp, as well as expanding public access to woodlands and waterways.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/04/labour-would-extend-right-to-wild-camp-to-all-english-national-parks

But Mr Griffith has responded: “Wild camping should be just that – reserved for the truly wild areas of the UK. I love our special countryside and want people to enjoy access but allowing anyone to set up camp anywhere they liked here in the South Downs would be a disaster for nature, be a trespassers’ charter and another headache for farmers and livestock owners. This would also undermine the many existing South Downs campsites who work hard with planners to provide regulated sites to keep our green spaces clean from human waste and our heathland safe from wildfires.”

The South Downs is the UK’s newest National Park – legally created in 2010. It is also only the second area in England to be granted International Dark Sky Reserve status to restrict light pollution.

Mr Griffith said that in contrast with the UK’s other designated National Parks which are located far from population centres, the South Downs is within easy reach of Greater London and the whole South East of England – one of Europe’s most densely populated regions - with a population (according to the ONS) of 20 million people on its doorstep.

The MP is a supporter of the South Downs National Park and held a special debate in Parliament on its tenth anniversary.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-01-12/debates/B31D8857-1997-471E-B330- 7E3F087A8AC2/SouthDownsNationalPark10ThAnniversary

He explained: “Those political parties advocating this policy don’t understand the countryside. What is suitable for the wilds of Scotland or Dartmoor - far from population centres and where there is a tradition of common access dating back centuries - is wholly unsuitable for the South Downs which lies on the doorstep of potentially millions of wild campers.”

https://www.pitchup.com/search/?q=petworth&within=20

“Camping is a wonderful experience and as the founder of the Dark Skies All Party Parliamentary Group no one could be a bigger fan of getting away from it all with just the countryside and night sky for company. However, the South Downs already has many licensed camp sites who go to great lengths to comply with all of the regulations on things like disposal of human excrement and fire safety. The UK’s leading campsite website, PitchUp.com, lists more than 50 legal sites within 20 miles of Petworth alone.”