Designation of the new South Downs National Park - stretching across East Sussex and Hampshire - has come into effect as of 31 March.

Environment secretary Hilary Benn announced that the 1,600sq km (618sq mile) area between Beachy Head, East Sussex, and St Catherine's Hill near Winchester, Hampshire, would become a National Park in November 2009. A new national park authority - the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) - has been established and is set to meet for the first time on 20 April, with a year before it becomes fully operational.

SDNPA interim chief executive Richard Shaw said: "The South Downs has been nationally recognised for its natural beauty and the space it offers for people to enjoy the countryside. This is why it has been made into a National Park. "The South Downs now has the highest level of landscape protection afforded to an area in the UK and National Park designation will help to keep the South Downs special."

Image: Seven Sisters cliffs on the eastern boundary of the park - Peter Wakely/Natural England