Jane Austen Country is in danger of obliteration by thousands of houses thanks to a combination of factors the legendary Chawton author could not possibly have foreseen.<br />In 1801, when Jane was 25, England’s population was 8.3 million, but in 2021 it was 56.5 million - a seven-fold increase.<br />And in 2010 the South Downs National Park was created, with huge consequences for East Hampshire.<br />Some 57 per cent of it was considered worthy of inclusion in the national park, but 43 per cent - including the A31 corridor where Austen roamed - was not.<br />Throw in a government keen on providing more homes and an army of developers focused on profit over protecting countryside, and East Hampshire District Council faces a hopeless situation.
