The South Downs stretch from East Sussex to Hampshire Click here to see a map of the proposed national park

There is no point in creating a South Downs National Park if money is not given to farmers to look after it, the House of Lords has been told.

Conservative Lord Renton of Mount Harry, Sussex Downs Conservation Board chairman, said there was no money to back up the government's park plans.

He said there were "no clear decisions and no action" on rural policies.

Plans to create a national park from Eastbourne to Hampshire are currently the subject of a public inquiry.

Lord Renton accused ministers of encouraging people to dream about better times after a pledge by Labour to create the national park four years ago.

He said expectations had been aroused over the prospect of the park.

"Dreams have been dreamt that the stone curlew would come back, bee orchids would be widely seen again, sheep farming would become prosperous and footpaths would be extended," he said.

As chairman of the conservation board which may be in charge of the park, Lord Renton said he had been given no funding.

"No-one has given me a budget as to what the national park will have, how it will find new money to fund all of these new, good activities in which local people might be involved.

"There is no point in, becoming a national park unless there is more money available to help working farmers improve the landscape, widen the bridal paths, create conservation areas where birds, butterflies and rare flowers can flourish.

"We also need to deal with the problem of more tourists that are going to visit us."

The inquiry which began in November 2003 is expected to last a year.

SOUTH DOWNS NATIONAL PARK PROPOSAL 73 miles of chalk hills extend across more than 400,000 acres Public inquiry into park proposal could take up to a year