Webinar: A 21st Century ‘People’s Charter’ for Nature, Access & Landscape?
In 1949, radical new legislation, the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, was passed. This was heralded as a ‘People’s Charter for the Open Air’. Now over 70 years later should we be equally bold and legislate to enable us to address the overlapping crises of health, nature and climate?
Join us on 31 October 2022 at 4 - 5.30pm for a free webinar: A 21st Century ‘People’s Charter’ for Nature, Access & Landscape.
This online panel debate, run in partnership with the Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas and hosted by Julia Aglionby, Professor in Practice at the University of Cumbria, will explore the legislation changes needed to ensure that our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are better protected for the future and can play their full part in enhancing biodiversity, delivering Net Zero, and as places where communities thrive and people of all backgrounds feel welcome and involved.
Confirmed panellists include Rose O’Neill, Chief Executive of Campaign for National Parks, Sarah Mukherjee MBE, CEO of IEMA and Tompion Platt, Director of Operations and Advocacy for the Ramblers.
It is really disappointing that one of the new Prime Minister’s first major announcements was to lift the ban on fracking in England. Thankfully, the Welsh Government is keeping the ban in place.
We joined over 60 organisations in writing to Liz Truss urging her not to restart fracking. The current ban was introduced in 2019 on safety grounds after a series of earth tremors at a drilling site in Lancashire and is something that we and other environmental NGOs campaigned long and hard for.
We are opposed to fracking. It is completely incompatible with meeting climate change targets and there is a high risk that drilling will damage the landscape and natural environment. There is no evidence that allowing fracking would address the pressing problem of high energy bills, and local communities have strongly resisted fracking wherever it’s been proposed. For all these reasons we will keep working to ensure National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are protected from fracking. North York Moors – one of the National Parks most at risk of fracking (photo by Adam Jacques)
Tackling the impact of holiday lets in National Parks
Holiday lets can play an important role in the local economy of National Parks, but the high numbers of holiday lets and second homes in some places are a significant barrier to the development of thriving, sustainable communities.
Our response to a Westminster Government call for evidence shows that in some places, such as Keswick in the Lake District, over 50 per cent of the housing stock are either second homes or holiday lets. This makes it harder for local people to find affordable homes, and harder for local businesses to find employees as there so few permanent residents. It can also lead to schools, shops and other local services closing if the year-round population is too small to sustain them. We are calling for compulsory registration of holiday lets, alongside the ability to charge increased levels of council tax and require planning permission for a change of use to a holiday let or second home where high numbers of such properties are causing problems for local communities. You can read our full submission here. Houses in the Yorkshire Dales
Our Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II
Whether a royalist or not, it is impossible to deny our late Queen’s deep connection to the natural world. Learning to horse ride at the age of three, her passion for the native Fell Pony encapsulated a lifelong love affair with the countryside. Read our tribute on our website. The Queen with her Fell ponies Bybeck Nightingale (right) and Bybeck Katie (Royal Windsor Horse Show by henrydallalphotography.com/PA, PA Media)
Viewpoint magazine arriving next month
Friends of National Parks will receive the latest edition of Viewpoint magazine on their doormats or in their inboxes during October. Our bi-annual Viewpoint magazine comes packed with news, views and features about National Parks in England and Wales and is exclusively available to our Friends.
If you'd like to receive a copy hot off the press, please join us as a Friend today for just £3 a month. You'll be helping fuel our campaigning work too!
Coast Path, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park (photo by Jason Davies)
For the sake of our future, we must retain existing laws and enhance nature protection in our National Parks and Protected Landscapes
Our Chief Executive Dr Rose O’Neill shares our concerns to recent changes set out by the UK Government that could seriously impact England’s landscapes in this latest blog on our website. Read the blog and find out how you can get involved in our campaigns here.
We're recruiting!
We are looking for two new members of staff – a Policy and Projects Officer and a Senior Communications Officer. If you want to be at the forefront of tackling some of the most important issues facing humankind, for some of the world’s most awe-inspiring places, Campaign for National Parks wants to hear from you. Visit the website for more information and to apply. The deadline for applications is 28 October 2022.
And finally...
Alison Barnes, CEO of the New Forest National Park Authority and National Parks England Lead Officer for Wildlife and Nature Recovery, writes about the need to work together to drive nature recovery across our landscapes. Read her blog post here.
