Meet the South Downs Planner: Transport Officer Alex Pringle

Get to know Alex Pringle, the National Park’s Transport Officer…

Three words that sum up your job?

Varied, Highways, Projects

What’s your role in the planning team?

Bit of a go-to for Transport and highway queries, along with a liaison and translator between the National Park Park and the Highways teams of the Constituent County Councils, and Brighton & Hove City Council.

What appealed to you about working for a National Park?

It was an opportunity to work for an organisation working towards an improved future, rather than just continuing the status-quo. The opportunity to not be shouted at in the street so often was a bonus.

Can you describe your typical day?

Given the scope of my role is quite varied, a typical day is hard to pin down. I can be working on transport and access issues with Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, or providing technical advice on development proposals or reviewing a County Council’s Local Transport Plan or all of the above in the same day.

Best thing about working for a National Park?

The sense of community within the teams and our residents. And it helps that I don’t get shouted at by the public nearly as much as when I worked for a Local Authority!

What do you love about the South Downs National Park?

As a populated, but rural park, you’re never too far from green space and the opportunity to get out in nature, and the breadth of the Park means there’s such a variety of landscapes to experience, from chalk grasslands, to hillforts to coastal cliffs.

Have you got any hobbies?

I have a myriad muddle of different hobbies, but largely I enjoy gaming (video and board), model making and writing.

Currently reading/watching?

Currently reading ‘The Game Changers’ by Tim Clare which discusses the development of games from Knucklebone dice and the Royal Game of Ur all the way up to modern hobby board gaming like Catan, Pandemic and Ticket to Ride.

Dream holiday destination and why?  

A cruise, though one that visits many ports, not weeks at sea. It’s like staying in a nice hotel and waking up somewhere new to explore each morning.

Describe your perfect day (when not working, of course!)

Heading down to the coast with my wife and son, strolling along the seafront at Southsea and getting some fish and chips for lunch to eat on the beach.