It is time for a National Nature Service

Together with a wide range of other organisations including local authorities and businesses as well as environmental charities and diversity groups, we have sent a letter to the Chancellor calling for investment in a National Nature Service as part of a Green Recovery. By providing employment and training opportunities in environmental projects, this service will create tens of thousands of jobs, help address the nature and climate emergencies, and ensure that more people benefit from the health and wellbeing benefits of nature as the nation recovers from Covid-19. 



We are particularly keen to support the scheme as it could help deliver numerous conservation projects in National Parks, such as tree-planting and peatland restoration. It has already been getting lot of media attention, including on BBC Countryfile on 21 June where it received support from the actor Sir Mark Rylance. There is also growing public support for a National Nature Service, with over 1400 declarations of support in the first 24 hours. 

If you too want the Government to invest in a National Nature Service, please show your support by signing the public declaration on www.nationalnatureservice.org.

A big step towards pylon-free views

This month we celebrated a major step forward in our campaign for pylon-free views in National Parks, when Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council granted planning approval for National Grid's scheme to remove 2 km of overhead line and seven pylons near Dunford Bridge in the Peak District. Congratulations to Friends of the Peak District who have been campaigning against these particular pylons for the last decade.



We lobbied hard for the funding which is paying for these projects through National Grid's Visual Impact Provision (VIP) programme and hope that this will be the first of many similar projects in National Parks. Next up is a scheme to remove ten pylons in Snowdonia, a planning decision on which is expected in July.  

However, the current funding for VIP finishes in 2021 and there are many more places in National Parks that could benefit from it. So, we have recently been working hard to ensure that it will continue to be available in future, including responding to various consultations. The regulator, Ofgem, is expected to make an initial decision, and launch a further round of consultation, in July, and we shall be continuing to pursue the case for pylon-free views in National Parks in our response to that.
 

New Chief Executive appointed at CNP

We are pleased to announce that, following the departure of our Chief Executive Corinne Pluchino, who is relocating to be closer to her family in the south west following a change in personal circumstances, Anita Konrad has now joined Campaign for National Parks as Chief Executive. 

Anita has extensive experience of working on environment, sustainability and regeneration issues, most recently as National Director of Sustrans in England.  She has also held senior leadership roles at Groundwork and at the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA International). Anita is a member of the Forestry Commission’s Forestry and Woodland Advisory Committee and an Advisory Board member of Landscape Learn, a small social enterprise committed to improving standards of living across all communities through natural environment-led design practice.

Announcing her appointment, Janette Ward, Chair of the Board, said: “We are delighted to welcome Anita to the organisation at such a pivotal moment for the development of the National Parks.  Her wide-ranging experience, in both the UK and in Europe, will be immensely valuable as we continue our campaigning work to ensure that our most precious landscapes are protected and enhanced for current and future generations.”

Anita commented: “I am excited to join Campaign for National Parks at a time when our National Parks must have a strong voice in the emerging national conversation about a green recovery. The past few weeks have been a reminder of the critical role that access to the natural environment plays in our communities’ health and wellbeing. I am looking forward to working with all our colleagues and partners in the National Parks, public bodies and voluntary sector organisations.”

Anita joined Campaign for National Parks on 9 June 2020.  She has been appointed as an interim chief executive for nine months. 
 

Further reading…