An updated version of this profile is online at nationalcharacterareas.co.uk. This pdf is retained for historical and completeness purposes.
The South Downs National Character Area (NCA) comprises a ‘whale-backed’ spine of chalk stretching from the Hampshire Downs in the west to the coastal cliffs of Beachy Head in East Sussex; two per cent of the coastline between Eastbourne and Seaford is recognised as Heritage Coast. The majority of the area falls within the South Downs National Park, a recognition of its natural beauty and importance for access and recreation, and allowing for local decisionmaking processes to manage this nationally important area. Some eight per cent of the NCA is classified as urban, comprising the coastal conurbation of Brighton and Hove in the east. The South Downs NCA is an extremely diverse and complex landscape with considerable local variation representing physical, historical and economic influences; much of it has been formed and maintained by human activity, in particular in agriculture and forestry.
Further information