National parks of England and Wales

The national parks of England and Wales are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape that are designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Despite the name, national parks in England and Wales are quite different from those in many other countries, where national parks are owned and managed by the government as a protected community resource, and permanent human communities are not a part of the landscape. In England and Wales, designation as a national park can include substantial settlements and land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape, and land within a national park remains largely in private ownership.

There are currently 12 national parks ( Welsh: parciau cenedlaethol) in England and Wales (see List of national parks). A further area in England — the South Downs — is in the process of being designated as a national park. Each park is operated by its own National Park Authority, with two "statutory purposes":

1. to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area, and
2. to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the park's special qualities by the public.

An estimated 110 million people visit the national parks of England and Wales each year. Recreation and tourism bring visitors and funds into the parks, to sustain their conservation efforts and support the local population through jobs and businesses. These visitors also bring problems, such as erosion and traffic congestion, and conflicts over the use of the parks' resources.

History

Untamed countryside?

Archaeological evidence from prehistoric Britain demonstrates that the areas now designated as national parks have had human occupation since the Stone Age, at least 5,000 years ago and in some cases much earlier.

Before the 19th century, relatively wild, remote areas were often seen simply as uncivilised and dangerous. In 1725, Daniel Defoe described the High Peak as "the most desolate, wild and abandoned country in all England.". However, by the early 19th century, romantic poets such as Byron, Coleridge and Wordsworth wrote about the inspirational beauty of the "untamed" countryside. Significantly, in 1810, Wordsworth described the Lake District as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy". This early vision took over a century, and much controversy, to take legal form in the UK with the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

The idea for a form of national parks was first proposed in the United States in the 1860s, where National Parks were established to protect wilderness areas such as Yosemite. This model has been used in many other countries since, but not in the United Kingdom. After thousands of years of human integration into the landscape, Britain lacks natural areas of wilderness. Furthermore, those areas of natural beauty so cherished by the romantic poets were often only maintained and managed in their existing state by human activity, usually agriculture.

Government support for national parks is established

By the early 1930s, increasing public interest in the countryside, coupled with the growing and newly mobile urban population, was generating increasing friction between those seeking access to the countryside and landowners. Alongside of direct action trespasses, such as the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, several voluntary bodies took up the cause of public access in the political arena.

In 1931, Christopher Addison (later Lord Addison) chaired a government committee that proposed a 'National Park Authority' to choose areas for designation as national parks. A system of national reserves and nature sanctuaries was proposed:

However, no further action was taken after the intervention of the 1931 General Election.

The voluntary Standing Committee on National Parks first met on 26 May 1936 to put the case to the government for national parks in the UK. After World War II, the Labour Party proposed the establishment of national parks as part of the post-war reconstruction of the UK. A report by John Dower, secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks, to the Minister of Town and Country Planning in 1945 was followed in 1947 by a Government committee, this time chaired by Sir Arthur Hobhouse, which prepared legislation for national parks, and proposed 12 national parks. Sir Arthur had this to say on the criteria for designating suitable areas:

National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949

The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 was passed with all party support. The first 10 national parks were designated as such in the 1950s under the Act in mostly poor-quality agricultural upland. The land was still owned by individual landowners, often private estates, but also property owned by public bodies such as the Crown, or charities which allow and encourage access such as the National Trust. Accessibility from the cities was also considered important.

Other areas were also considered: for example, parts of the coast of Cornwall were considered as a possible national park in the 1950s but were thought to be too disparate to form a single coherent national park and were eventually designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) instead. The north Pennines were also considered for designation as a national park in the 1970s but the proposal was thought to be administratively too difficult because the area was administered by 5 different county councils.

Later additions

The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads are not in the strictest sense a national park, being run by a separately constituted Broads Authority set up by a special Act of Parliament in 1988, but the differences are sufficiently small that this entity is always regarded as being "equivalent to" a national park.

The New Forest was designated as a national park on March 1, 2005.

A further national park in the South Downs is proposed, and received support from the government in September 1999. The South Downs is the last of the 12 areas chosen in the 1947 Hobhouse Report which has yet to become a national park. As of February 2005, a public inquiry is being held to decide the boundaries of the proposed national park. The Inquiry sat for 90 days in 2004 before being formally closed on 23 March 2005, [1]. The report from the inspector is expected to be published in the first months of 2006, and designation process is expected to take another two to three years.

Organisation

Since April 1997, following the Environment Act 1995, each national park has been managed by its own National Park Authority. Previously, all but the Peak District and the Lake District were governed by the local county councils. The Peak District and the Lake District, the first two national parks to be designated, were under the control of Planning Boards that were independent of the local county councils.

Each Authority is required to carry out two "statutory purposes":

1. to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area; and
2. to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the parks' special qualities by the public.

These purposes can conflict: in such cases, under the ' Sandford Principle', conservation comes first. This principle was given statutory force by section 62 of the Environment Act 1995. In pursuing these purposes, National Park Authorities also have a duty to foster the social and economic well-being of their local communities.

Slightly over half the members of each National Park Authority are appointees from the Principal Local Authorities covered by the park; the remainder are appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, some to represent local parish councils, others selected to represent the "national interest". The Broads Authority also has members appointed by the Countryside Agency, English Nature, Great Yarmouth Port Authority and the Environment Agency. The National Park and Broad Authorities are covered by similar regulatory controls to those applied to local councils.

Funding for national parks is complex, but essentially the full cost of each Park Authority is funded from central government funds. In the past this was partly paid for by local authorities, and refunded to them from the government to varying degrees. In 2003/2004, the Park Authorities received around £35.5 million of central government funding.

The Countryside Agency and the Countryside Council for Wales are the statutory bodies responsible for designating new national parks, subject to approval by the Secretary of State. The Association of National Park Authorities exists to provide the Park Authorities with a single voice when dealing with government and its agencies. The Council for National Parks is a charity that works to protect and enhance the national parks of England and Wales.

Planning in national parks

National Park Authorities are strategic and local planning authorities for their areas. They are responsible for maintaining the Local Development Framework — the spatial planning guide for their area. They also grant planning consent for development, within the constraints of the Framework. This gives them very considerable direct control over residential and industrial development, and the design of buildings and other structures; as well as strategic matters such as mineral extraction.

The National Park Authorities' planning powers vary only slightly from other authorities, but the policies and their interpretation are stricter than elsewhere. This is supported and encouraged by the Government who regard:

Conflicts in national parks

The National Park Authorities have two roles: to conserve and enhance the park, and to promote its use by visitors. These two objectives cause frequent conflicts between the needs of different groups of people. It is estimated that the national parks of England and Wales receive 110 million visitors each year. Although recreation and tourism brings many benefits to an area, it also brings a number of problems. The national funding offered to National Park Authorities is partly in recognition of the extra difficulties created in dealing with these conflicts.

Congestion of villages and beauty spots

Some of the most popular " honeypot" areas attract large numbers of visitors, resulting in overcrowded car parks, blocked roads, and overstretched local facilities, particularly on Sundays in the summer and on bank holidays. Examples include the areas near Keswick in the Lake District and Buxton and Bakewell in the Peak District.

Erosion

Walking and use of other public rights-of-way is an extremely popular use of all the national parks. Heavy use of the most popular paths leads to considerable erosion, but strengthening of paths can be unsightly. Particularly heavy wear is caused by sponsored walks, walks promoted by national books and magazines, by horse riding on unsurfaced bridleways, and use of off-road vehicles on green lanes. Examples include Dovedale in the Peak District. Over-grazing, for example, by sheep on hill and moorland areas, can also reduce vegetation, leading to increased erosion.

Damage and disturbance to wildlife

Wildlife may be disturbed by the level of use on some of the areas of the parks that are open to the public. Moorland and chalk downland is easily damaged by regular use, and takes many years to recover. Moorland birds in particular nest and roost on the ground and are therefore especially sensitive. Orienteering, mountain biking and hang gliding are typical activities which are likely to cause disturbance to nesting birds.

Litter

Litter of all kinds is both unsightly and can cause pollution and damage to livestock and wild animals. Broken glass is a danger to people and, by focusing the rays of the sun, a possible cause of fire, particularly in areas of moorland such as Exmoor, parts of the Peak District and the North York Moors.

Damage to farmland

Trampling of grass meadows reduces the amount of winter feed for farm animals. Walkers who stray from footpaths may climb over fences or dry stone walls rather than looking out for the stiles that mark the course of footpaths across farmland. Sheep can be injured or even killed by dogs not under proper control, especially at lambing time.

Local community displacement

Gift shops and cafés which cater for the needs of tourists are often more profitable than shops selling everyday goods for local people (such as butchers or bakers). In some villages where tourist shops are in the majority and there are few shops catering for the local people, the local community may feel pushed out by the tourists. Prices of houses are often very high in tourist villages, and are purchased as second homes or holiday homes by holiday cottage firms or rich incomers who have their main homes elsewhere, leaving local families struggling to afford the inflated price of accommodation. This is a particular problem in areas within easy commuting distance of large cities, such as the Peak District, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the New Forest.

Conflict between recreational users

Some forms of use of national parks interfere with other uses. For example, use of high-speed boats causes noise pollution, and conflicts with other uses such as boat trips, yachting, canoeing, and swimming. A controversial bylaw imposing a 10 miles per hour speed limit came into force on Windermere on 29 March 2005. The new speed limit for Windermere effectively prohibits speedboats and water skiing in the Lake District (of the 16 larger lakes in the Lake District, only Windermere, Coniston Water, Derwent Water and Ullswater have a public right of navigation; speed limits were imposed on the three lakes other than Windermere in the 1970s and 1980s).

List of national parks

Key National Park Est. km² 1 Peak District 1951 1,438 2 Lake District 1951 2,292 3 Snowdonia (Welsh: Eryri) 1951 2,142 4 Dartmoor 1951 956 5 Pembrokeshire Coast (Welsh: Arfordir Penfro) 1952 620 6 North York Moors 1952 1,436 7 Yorkshire Dales 1954 1,769 8 Exmoor 1954 693 9 Northumberland 1956 1,049 10 Brecon Beacons (Welsh: Bannau Brycheiniog) 1957 1,351 11 The Broads 1988 303 12 New Forest 2005† 580 [13] South Downs [2006 / 2007?]‡ 1,641 Established total 14,629 Proposed total 16,270	Twelve areas are designated as national parks in England and Wales, and a thirteenth is in the process of being designated.
† — The park was designated on March 1, 2005. A National Park Authority for the New Forest was established on 1 April 2005, and will assume its full statutory powers in April 2006. See Government press release.
‡ — The public inquiry to decide the boundaries of the proposed national park formally closed on 23 March 2005. Formal designation as a national park may occur in 2006 or 2007.

At the beginning of 2005, some 9.3% of the area of England and Wales lay within national parks; the addition of South Downs and the New Forest would raise this to 10.7%. The three national parks in Wales cover around 20% of the land area of Wales.