Natural England - National Parks – bigger and better?
National Parks – bigger and better?
4 May 2009
Natural England to identify possible extensions to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Park boundaries.
Natural England today announced that it will re-start its work on identifying possible extensions to the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks. Work by Natural England has shown that there are large areas between the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks that are worthy of landscape protection and could be candidates for National Park status.
Areas such as the Howgill Fells, the Orton Fells and the fells from Shap to Whinfell, are among several very special landscapes in the area that people recognise and value, but that are not formally protected at national level.
Natural England halted its designation work last year to await clarification of legal uncertainties that were being considered during the Public Inquiry into the South Downs National Park. The South Downs Inspector’s recent findings strongly support Natural England’s approach to designating National Parks and confirm that National Parks can be designated around more than one type of landscape character. This confirmation allows Natural England to re-commence its work in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks with the certainty that it is taking the correct approach. Work on designating new boundaries would be accompanied by wide public consultation and confirmation of new any boundaries would be subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
Helen Phillips, Natural England's Chief Executive said: “The work of looking at whether new landscape areas can be included as part of the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National parks remains a high priority for Natural England. The legal uncertainties of recent years have caused significant delays and we are looking into how we can progress the project quickly, but thoroughly. We remain committed to holding a full public consultation to allow all stakeholders the opportunity to tell us their views”.
Speaking today, Poul Christensen, Acting Chair of Natural England said: “I am delighted that our work in reviewing parts of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Park boundaries can now continue. It is fitting that as we celebrate 60 years of National Parks - and all that they have achieved for people and wildlife - we now have a unique opportunity to look at a major expansion of two of England’s most cherished protected areas.”
Natural England will also be looking at the role of protected areas over the next 60 years and at the framework that needs to be put in place to ensure that wildlife, landscapes and access are effectively supported. In May, the Natural England Board will begin considering its future strategy for designating protected areas. This work will continue through the rest of the year.
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Notes for editors: For more information contact Natural England’s National Press Office on 0845 603 9953, out of hours 07970 098005, email press@naturalengland.org.uk. or visit our website at www.naturalengland.org.uk
1. Natural England: works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. Natural England is the Government’s statutory adviser on National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs).
2. National Parks: A National Park must be an extensive tract of countryside, that because of its natural beauty and the opportunities it affords for open air recreation, Natural England considers it especially desirable that legal measures are taken to safeguard it under the provisions of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949.
3. North West landscape designation work: Land between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales has for many years been perceived as worthy of designation. In May 2005 the Countryside Agency, following a review of land in the north west of England, agreed that at a broad scale certain areas meet the statutory criteria for national landscape designations. Officers have since been working towards proposing extensions to the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District National Parks in the area between the two National Parks in Cumbria and Lancashire. The areas under consideration are:
Birkbeck Fells to Whinfell.
Helsington Barrows to Sizergh Fell;
River Kent and around Levens;
Orton Fells;
Northern Howgill Fells;
Mallerstang and Wild Boar Fell;
Middleton, Barbon and Leck Fells;
Firbank Fell;
Lower Lune Valley and adjacent fells to the west;
Kirkby Lonsdale area; and
Area around Cold Cotes.
4. The South Downs National Park Public Inquiry considered submissions for the inclusion of the Western Weald in a future South Downs National Park. This raised key issues that are fundamental to Natural England’s approach to designating National Parks including whether National Parks should contain more than one type of landscape character. The Inspector, who was re-considering his own earlier report, agreed with Natural England that National Parks are capable of containing more than one type of landscape. He also made a number of other recommendations.
In his report, released on 30 March 2009, the Inspector said that the 2005 “Meyrick” judgment by the High Court meant that “the designation work currently underway in the North-West and Yorkshire was at risk.” He confirmed that recent changes to the law “broadly support Natural England’s understanding of the way the statutory tests in the 1949 Act should be applied and help support the Government's aim to bring the 1949 Act more up-to-date”. Because of this change, the Inspector agreed with Natural England that National Parks can a variety of different landscape character areas, explaining that “a National Park can contain landscapes that are naturally beautiful in different ways. In an earlier report, he had recommended that National Parks should be more uniform.
