The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,400 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 40 trips to carry that many people.
Two of the English National Parks have been in the media spotlight in the last week as the economic downturn begins to affect them in quite different ways.
Walkers exploring Dovedale in the Peak District National Park
First to the Peak District, where the National Park Authority is consulting on ways in which the public toilets at the visitor hot spot of Dovedale might be kept open – at £17,000 per annum the loos don’t come cheap, especially in this time of budget squeeze. Dovedale has captured the hearts of many with its dramatic limestone ravine, accessible riverside paths and famous stepping stones (this lovely short film of Dovedale is well worth a look). But its many thousands of visitors expect and need basic infrastructure – a view, a loo and a brew.
A mobile information hut in Dovedale - could loos be wheeled in too?
Next to the North York Moors National Park where falling visitor numbers have compounded the Park’s financial woes. Visitor numbers to the National Park have fallen by about 10 per cent during the peak summer period, presumably as the credit crunch starts to bite on people’s leisure spending. Car parking fees have also declined and sales at visitor centres are down.
While political and media attention is understandably focused on the financial crisis in other European countries, Mr Osborne and his fellow Cabinet members would be wise to keep half an eye on what is happening on their own doorsteps. Closing toilets and falling visitor numbers may not be immediate headline grabbers, but they are early warning signs of tough times ahead for people living within National Parks and those entrusted to look after these special places.
The stepping stones at Dovedale are a must do for all the family
One of the most unusual planning applications to crop up in a National Park was refused last week by the Lake District National Park Authority – a 1200m zip wire on Fleetwith Fell. With the authority’s planning officers declining to make a recommendation because the case was deemed too finely balanced, the decision was left to the authority’s members. After much deliberation and weighing up of all of the issues (landscape harm, ecological impact, effects on tranquillity, economic benefits, recreational diversification), they eventually refused permission for the zip wire.
Before and after the decision a war of words was conducted in the press with famous mountaineers siding with the quarry company that had proposed the zip wire and parish councils and recreation and conservation groups arguing against the plans. Fair enough, but animosity grew exponentially as the decision day approached, exploding uncontrollably after the refusal was announced.
Some saw this application as a line in the sand, others felt that the issues were more finely balanced, but, whatever your view, the planning system exists to enable everyone to have their say so that the use of one of our most precious resources (land) is regulated in the overall public interest. That’s exactly what has happened in this case, with the National Park Authority deciding that the harm to the landscape from the zip wire outweighed its economic benefits. It would be a sad day indeed were objectors or supporters of development proposals in National Parks unable to voice their views because of fear of intimidation or lambasting from ‘the other side’. I like a good debate as much as the next campaigner, but I was dismayed to see some of the comments in the press, mainly aimed at one opponent in particular, the Friends of the Lake District.
In my view, the Honister zip wire is not, as has been portrayed by some, a case of young versus old, or landscape versus jobs, but an example of a unique development proposal in a National Park on which a reasoned judgement was made. Am I naive to hope that the debate on the next controversial job-generating development in a National Park will be conducted in a less hostile manner? Probably. But that doesn’t stop my wishful thinking.
Tags: Lake District, National Park, planning, zip wire
Defra has at last bitten the bullet and published the results of its review of how National Park Authorities in England are run. On a day in which Labour Leader Ed Miliband got heckled at the TUC conference and Transport Secretary Philip Hammond called trains “a rich man’s toy” you could be forgiven for missing these “Big Society plans” – but then National Park Authority governance was never really destined to set the world alight, was it?
What do the government’s proposals mean in practice? Well the short answer is nothing immediately as many of the actions need legislative change or further consultation before they can be taken forward. The membership of some authorities will reduce slightly (Dartmoor and the Lake District), with common sense ideas such as consistent terms of appointment for all types of authority member at last finding favour. In the longer term, the proposals are intended to give local people a stronger voice in how National Park Authorities work.
The greatest attention is likely to focus on the direct election pilots announced for the New Forest and the Peak District – local consultation will determine how these will work and they will prove a useful exercise in gathering evidence and experience to inform future decisions on the extent to which they should be taken forward. I think it’s fair to say that direct elections would not have been a headline announcement, were it not for the fact that the Lib Dems are a partner in the Coalition Government. Interestingly, proposals for direct elections to police authorities have met with opposition from some quarters, including the Lib Dems.
The proposal to remove the requirement on local councils to apply a political balance when appointing three or more members to a Park Authority is interesting. While sold as a technical detail we’ll be monitoring this change to ensure that it does not lead to unintended consequences such as politicisation of the authorities.
A couple of other things caught my eye such as Exmoor deciding to call itself the Exmoor National Park Service and the North York Moors’ investigation of the role that social enterprises might play in delivering some Park services.
Encouragingly, government also reaffirmed the National Parks as our most treasured landscapes (take note Mr Osborne ready for the next spending review) and the importance of independent authorities running them. Personally, I’d like to see the governance review implemented as quickly as possible so that the Authorities can get on with their important tasks of Park conservation and management.
Eclectic is definitely a word I would use to describe my job – yesterday I visited the North York Moors National Park to see the sites where drilling was to take place to establish how much potash (a material used in fertiliser) is found in deposits under the National Park. But as well as learning more about this unique development proposal, I saw lovely wild flowers, pretty villages such as Thornton-le-Dale, the stunning North York Moors coastline (my favourite part) and the tourist metropolis that is Scarborough in the August school holidays.
The heathery North York Moors
The sheer variety of the North York Moors has always impressed me. I first came across this when I walked the Coast to Coast some years ago when, much to my surprise, the North York Moors turned out to be my favourite section, simply because of that variety. As well as the vast heathery moorlands I had been expecting I found interesting woods, waterfalls and, of course, that coastline. Heritage Coast has always seemed too weak a description to me – what about ‘so outstandingly beautiful that it takes your breath away’ coast? Anyway, enough of the hyperbole and back to the job in hand – potash mining and its future in the National Park.
I should say now that if this mining application materialises, as expected in late 2011 (although that timescale seems brashly ambitious to me), then it’s likely to be the most significant application in a National Park for some years. And yes, it will involve that old love triangle of nationally stunning landscapes, local jobs and nationally important ‘stuff’ (in this case potash or perhaps even something called polyhalite, another potassium bearing mineral).
So who’s the brains behind this scheme? The developer, Sirius Minerals, is an interesting company with no obvious track record of mining in sensitive landscapes. It has already applied for several exploratory boreholes in the National Park to assess the extent and quality of underground potash resources. However, only one of these is up and running, with delays to the others, not least because drilling boreholes in a sensitive environment like a National Park is always going to be more complicated than it seems on paper with many factors needing to be taken into account. Prehistoric sites, natural springs and tight timescales to beat the onset of inclement weather all make the minimum eight weeks needed to prepare, run and restore a drilling site look increasingly challenging.
National Parks only exist because of the power of campaigning
Today is a day for celebration as we mark 75 years of campaigning for National Parks! With many achievements under our belts, but with equally as many challenges ahead, I thought I should reflect on some of our early campaigns, and what new tactics we will need to deploy in the future. Warning – I am not going to give away all of our trade secrets though!
The early National Park campaigners were self-confessed zealots in their fight to preserve nature and landscape and win rights of access for the majority. The main tools in their campaigning armoury were unbridled optimism, passion and enthusiasm, which in turn powered their eloquence and ability to articulate their case. With no internet or computers they relied on the production of pamphlets to set out their arguments and spread the word about their cause. Winning hearts and minds of post-war politicians was key to the success of their campaigns and at times politicians and campaigners seemed united.
Pamphlets were the weapon of choice of early campaigners
But as well as targeting the sensibilities of politicians, our campaigning predecessors realised the importance of recruiting supporters to their campaigns. That spirit of partnership led to the setting up of the Standing Committee on National Parks, through which many organisations and individuals, united by a common cause, campaigned successfully for their shared goal of a National Parks Act. Their success would not have been achieved if those early pioneers had not played the long game and had the vision to see their campaign through – calls for National Parks were first made in earnest in the 1930s, but the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act did not come into being until 1949.
Tom Stephenson from the Standing Committee on National Parks with MPs on the Pennine Way in 1948
In modern times, while the paraphernalia surrounding campaigning has changed greatly, the basics remain the same – define your goal, find people who share it, gather evidence to support your campaign and publicise your efforts at every available step. As the policy and political context and campaigning techniques gain pace and sophistication, so must we campaigners adapt our skills and knowledge base. Our undergrounding campaign is a good example of where we have had to equip ourselves with highly technical knowledge – understanding the difference between high and low voltage lines and price controls helps our dialogue with the electricity industry and regulator and it’s also helping us to win campaigns and protect National Park landscapes. We are also keen to use social media more in our campaigning – expect a future blog on that.
We know that our campaigns have been successful and that our voice is respected and often listened to. Richard Benyon MP, government minister for natural environment and fisheries said at a parliamentary reception on 23 March 2011: “The Campaign for National Parks is a hugely professional campaigner, highly respected by officials and other tiers of government and the most professional campaigning organisation I have ever come across.” This makes me immensely proud of what we have achieved and how we have done it. But it also reminds me that we must retain a healthy distance from government, while remaining good friends and aligning ourselves where we can.
None of this means that we should at any time rest on our laurels and there’s no doubt that pressure on campaigners is growing as the fight for political and media attention and funding intensifies. A successful campaigning track record does not guarantee future campaign successes. We must continue to be bold, stay true to our national remit and accept that sometimes we may be unpopular.
We will need continual bursts of imagination as we seek to compete with powerful news stories such as that seen over the past few days (can anyone remember any news other than the News of the World?). The concept of blagging is new to me, and in the context of recent news stories has rightly been much derided. But I wonder if it might ever be used to good effect in our campaigning? I think I could make a convincing Secretary of State, announcing an accelerated process to extend the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks or a policy that all power lines in National Parks should be undergrounded immediately! But I fear that my Welsh accent might be a bit of a giveaway.
Happy 75th birthday Campaign for National Parks and here’s to many more campaign successes and the stamina, vision and passion to see them all through.
Visit our excellent website for more details on CNP’s 75th anniversary, our campaigning work and our anniversary appeal for funds.
Well didn’t that go quickly? The coalition government has survived its first year, with a few upsets such as over the Alternative Vote, but no real falling out, and the coalition and its agreement remain intact. Its end of first year progress report doesn’t reveal much about its environmental priorities so I thought I’d take a look at how National Parks have fared over the last year and what might be in store for them in the years that lie ahead…
Black mark – National Park funding
In my view there’s only one black mark on the government’s scorecard on National Parks, but it is a fairly big and indelible one. Despite their iconic status National Parks received no special immunity from public funding cuts and the bodies that run the Parks, the National Park Authorities, are battling to assimilate a 33% cut into their already modest budgets. To compound the misery, the Parks will also suffer from indirect cuts as many of their partners’ budgets have also been slashed.
Own goal – forestry consultation
As 33% of the public forest estate lies within National Parks, the government’s plans to reconfigure the public forest estate and potentially sell off much of it raised alarm bells. The consultation was soon scrapped and an independent panel established to look at the way forward. We’ve sent the panel our thoughts and hope that it recommends specific measures to secure the future of the public forest estate in National Parks, given its importance for access, recreation and wildlife.
The aborted forestry consultation was an own goal for the government
Gold star – ministerial commitment
The National Parks Minister Richard Benyon MP has been an impressive advocate for National Parks during his first year. Of course, we’d like to see him visit more (all) Parks and make more public statements of support, and, most importantly, champion the interests of the Parks with his ministerial counterparts, but he has made a good start and we appreciate that. Richard Benyon was especially vocal in his support for National Parks at CNP’s 75th anniversary parliamentary reception in March when he described his “absolute determination to make sure that National Parks continue to be the crown jewels of our natural environment” and that they “remain areas of sublime beauty that make the spirit soar”.
His boss, Caroline Spelman, visited the Lake District following the launch of the government’s uplands review but, given the important role that National Parks will play in helping her department to deliver many of its priorities, we’d expect a more visible presence from her in National Parks in the years ahead.
Gold star – transport funding
While the general funding picture for National Parks may be grim, an unlikely glimmer of hope emerged in the Department for Transport, when Transport Minister Norman Baker MP agreed that National Parks should be able to benefit directly from a new local sustainable transport fund. With fantastically ambitious and well put together bids emerging from the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, we hope that these are looked on favourably and are the start of a transport revolution in the Parks.
But the jury is still out….
National Parks remain low on the political radar of most government departments, some of which appear to nurse a begrudging hostility to the Parks’ functions or roles. With key reviews ahead on planning and energy policy, the government’s commitment to our finest landscapes will undoubtedly be tested in the months and years ahead. But with several members of the cabinet either with constituencies or homes in National Parks, maybe political support for them runs deeper than we might think…
The survival of National Parks depends on strong political support
This is one of my favourite times to explore National Parks and last week I had a fantastic wildlife and cultural odyssey in perhaps the most unexplored member of the family – Northumberland. With a World Heritage Site, the far horizons of the Cheviots, spring lambs galore and plenty of border tart, there’s not much more that I could have asked for from the week.
But I’m back down to earth with a bump already with the red-tape challenge, a public consultation exercise aiming to reduce regulatory burdens on business. At first glance this seemed to spell trouble for some of our most important environmental laws. Of course, major pieces of legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act are unlikely to be axed – the government confirmed over the weekend that it has no plans to remove important environmental protections – but I am perplexed as to why they were ever included on a list of legislation to be reviewed in the first place.
It’s certainly true that some regulations are no longer needed as they have served the purpose for which they were originally introduced. But as with all laws and regulations the devil is definitely in the detail and I question whether the Cabinet Office exercise is really the best way to review and refine green laws?
Inevitably, given the lack of explanation about why such key pieces of legislation were even being considered for review in the first place, there has already been a public backlash.
Now that the NGO community and groups such as 38 degrees have mobilised their people power, I expect that this exercise will not lead to key laws being axed. Rather more worrying is the uni-dimensional view of sustainable development that this seems to have unearthed within the government’s enterprise and business department BIS.
A departmental spokesperson is quoted as saying “We’ve got to look at things from both sides. Yes, there’s the environmental side, but businesses have to deal with these regulations on a daily basis and it takes a lot to grow a business.” Siding with either the environment or business isn’t likely to get us very far down the path of sustainability, nor is it likely to score too highly when the final count comes in on the greenest government ever poll.
Perhaps Business Secretary Vince Cable and his officials ought to take some time this spring to take a look at how the National Parks are demonstrating that a high quality and protected environment not only delivers the goods on wildlife and landscape, but also stimulates the economy and provides a base for businesses to grow sustainably.
The Peak District’s live and work rural programme helps to turn business ideas into reality and supports business development (examples include a green chippy, a llama trekking business and various retail, tourism and farm-based enterprises).
Sustainable Development Funds ensure that each year hundreds of thousands of pounds are spent on community projects across the National Parks and AONBs, many of which benefit local businesses. Last week I visited Barrowburn tea room and National Park information point in the heart of the Cheviots, which was supported by that funding.
Sustainable Development Funds support many local businesses, benefiting farmers and visitors
So while every cupboard needs a bit of a spring clean at this time of year, the shelf of environmental laws needs to be treated very carefully, because if that falls down, several other shelves are likely to tumble with it.
Spring lambs abound in the National Parks in April, like this Scottish blackface near Sewingshields Crags in the Northumberland National Park
On Friday 1 April 2011 the final piece of the South Downs National Park jigsaw was completed, when the National Park Authority officially came into being. As well as sending a warm welcome to this newest member of the National Parks family, I want to salute the campaign that secured National Park status for this very special area.
The South Downs was an early contender for National Park status as it was recommended for designation by the 1947 Hobhouse Report. But its case suffered because of the extent to which its downland had been ploughed up during the Second World War. The campaign for National Park status lay dormant for many years but was reignited in 1990 when a group of environmental organisations formed the South Downs Campaign. The Campaign was to be influential in many of the key decisions that led to the eventual confirmation of the National Park, but it also became a proxy for the growing and overwhelming public support for the South Downs National Park, as organisations large and small swelled its ranks.
Arable farmland is a very common sight across the South Downs
I got involved in the Campaign in the late 1990s and we soon scored a major campaigning success when the then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott MP said at the Labour Party conference in 1999 that Labour wanted to see National Parks in the New Forest and the South Downs. That was the start of the campaign in earnest and two public inquiries, countless press releases, many publicity-raising walks and endless planning meetings later, the National Park was eventually confirmed by the Secretary of State Hilary Benn MP in November 2009.
The Campaign was defined by and ultimately successful because of the selfless commitment and endless enthusiasm of its members, most of whom were volunteers. Even when faced with much better funded opposition, such as that from West Sussex County Council, the Campaign remained optimistic and members dug into their own pockets to keep up the momentum.
The launch of the National Park is a living testament to the colossal efforts of everyone who played a part in the Campaign over the years – we spent many late nights plotting campaigns and writing letters to newspaper editors, but knowing that we have helped to secure a National Park for the nation makes every ounce of hard work worth it. For me, it is also powerful evidence of the difference that people can make when they are united by a common objective. As Margaret Mead, the American anthropologist once said:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.
Of course, this is not the end of the story of the South Downs National Park; it is just the beginning. Those entrusted with the management and care of the National Park will face many challenges in the years ahead. But they should know that they can count on the support of the many civil society organisations who co-operated to form the Campaign and that they have the public well and truly behind them.
Welcome South Downs National Park Authority, and rest assured us campaigners will be waiting in the wings should you ever need us.
Gazing across the Western Weald, South Downs National Park
Tags: campaigning, National Parks, South Downs National Park
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,300 times in 2010. That’s about 3 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 5 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 72 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 71mb. That’s about a picture per week.
The busiest day of the year was July 27th with 125 views. The most popular post that day was Challenging times for National Parks.
The top referring sites in 2010 were cnp.org.uk, twitter.com, facebook.com, mail.yahoo.com, and healthfitnesstherapy.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for ruth chambers blog, value of national parks, big ben, ruth chambers cnp, and the value of national parks.
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Challenging times for National Parks June 2010
1 comment
Communicating the value of National Parks September 2010
6 comments
Why does National Park funding matter? November 2010
Cuts loom large, but don’t forget to celebrate National Parks Week! July 2010
Is there life beyond austerity? October 2010
