England's National Parks Committed to Involving Local People
16th July 2009
England’s National Park Authorities [1] have welcomed the announcement today (Thursday) by Defra Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies MP on direct elections and his desire to see greater involvement of local communities in the workings of the National Park Authorities (NPAs).
Following a national consultation on the subject of direct elections, the Minister has decided not to introduce them for members of National Park Authorities and the Broads Authority. Whilst praising the work that is already being undertaken, he has encouraged National Park Authorities to build on existing good practice to ensure greater engagement by the public and local residents in decision making within National Parks [2].
Narendra Bajaria CBE (ENPAA Chair) said:
“Balancing aspirations to conserve and enhance the national treasures that are National Parks with meeting local needs is a challenging task faced by all National Park Authorities. Every Authority works hard to involve local people and we are pleased to see this recognised by the Minister. But there is a strong desire for greater involvement, National Park Authorities accept this and we welcome the challenge posed. We shall be working with local residents groups, Parish Councils, Defra, and others in the months ahead to build on the good practice that already exists.”
Narendra added:
“Today’s announcement means National Park Authorities will continue to benefit from their unique combination of local knowledge, strong links with local authorities, and national experience amongst its membership. This will be supported by stronger mechanisms of accountability and local involvement. We believe this is the right balance of input to ensure National Parks continue to remain fit for purpose and be effective in meeting society’s aims for the 21st century.”
Note to Editors:
1. England has nine National Parks. They cover 8% of England by land area. Each has a National Park Authority (NPA) who have two statutory purposes. These are to:
- conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of their areas; and
- promote opportunities for the public understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of their areas.
In addition, the Broads Authority has an additional statutory purpose to protect the interests of navigation. In furthering these purposes, the NPAs are to seek to foster the social and economic well-being of their local communities.
2. In the Ministerial Statement, Huw Irranca-Davies MP, said “I have been impressed with the range of community engagement that already occurs, and having carefully considered the responses I have decided not to make any changes to the current membership arrangements. I am proposing ways of improving the accountability of the National Park Authorities and to more consistently apply some of the examples of best practice across all Parks”.
3. ENPAA (the English National Park Authorities Association) is the body that represents the National Park Authorities in England. It is a not for profit company limited by guarantee (company number 6521048, registered in England at First Floor, 2-4 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3NW). ENPAA provides a collective voice for the nine National Park Authorities.
Further information and interview
ENPAA
Paul Hamblin
Director, ENPAA
(work) 020 7655 4812
National Park Authorities
Each National Park Authority has a Communications Officer/ Press Team who will be available to answer media queries. Media Officers are listed below:
Broads Authority
Hilary Franzen Press Officer (w) 01603 610734
Dartmoor National Park Authority
John Weir Communications Officer (w) 01626 832093
Exmoor National Park Authority
Clare O’Conner Communications Manager (w) 01398 322244
Lake District National Park Authority
Mick Casey Communications Manager (w) 01539 792683
New Forest National Park Authority
Martin O'Neill Head of Communications (w) 01590 646647
North York Moors National Park Authority
Rachel McIntosh Communications Officer (w) 01439 770657
Northumberland National Park Authority
Frances Whitehead Communications Officer (w) 01434 611542
Peak District National Park Authority
John Fern Head of Communications (w) 01629 816356
Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Nick Oldham Media Officer (w) 01756 751616
