FACTS, figures and trends about the Yorkshire Dales National Park have been drawn up in the latest step towards setting up a five year plan.

The six ‘evidence papers’ list figures on everything from the number of businesses in the park, to average household incomes, to the amount of land covered by trees.

They encompass a wide range of issues from conservation of the landscape and public access through to supporting the local economy.

The papers are intended to guide seven ‘drafting groups’ which are currently writing objectives for the new plan.

An overall steering group of 13 public, private and voluntary organisations, including Craven district council, Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, is being chaired by the park's Chairman and Craven district councillor, Carl Lis.

He said: "In the summer we gathered people’s views on the big issues to tackle – and heard concerns about the future of farming post-Brexit, wildlife crime and ‘community sustainability’ – and now we have these evidence papers to draw on.

“Over the next few months the drafting groups will be working hard to review objectives that were in the last plan, and come up with new ones to address the challenges the national park faces – and the opportunities that are there.”

Farmer, Chris Clark, a member of the Farming and Land Management Forum, who farms at Nethergill, said that in the light of Britain’s imminent exit from the European Union, there was little doubt that the future of upland farming would be a key issue for the new plan.

"Brexit will create, if it hasn’t already, a period of great uncertainty not only for Dales farmers but also for those bodies trying to support farmers to protect and manage the Dales’ landscape.

“However, it could represent a significant opportunity to improve the profitability of hill farming and the environmental outputs associated with it."

The work of the drafting groups will be scrutinised at the first management plan forum to be held at Ingleton Community Centre on Thursday, November 23, at which about 70 organisations will attend including the National Trust and Craven Potholing Club..

After publication of the plan a public consultation will be held in the Spring of 2018 and it will be adopted in June next year.