Plan to extend boundary of Yorkshire Dales National Park (From Craven Herald)

Plan to extend boundary of Yorkshire Dales National Park

3:50pm Thursday 4th March 2010 in

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The identity of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority could change if a proposed extension into parts of Cumbria and Lancashire goes ahead, claims a park authority member.

The fear was exacerbated yesterday when South Lakeland District Council said an extended park would need a new name.

Coun John Blackie, who lives in Hawes and represents the upper dales on the park authority, fears the boundary changes, proposed by Natural England, would reduce the number of North Yorkshire and Craven park authority members.

And he said there could be calls to drop “Yorkshire” from the title or include “Westmorland”.

“From a tourism point of view that would completely change the brand,” he said.

“Appleby MP David Maclean said if the proposals go ahead, 30 per cent of the new park would be Cumbrian, whose people do not regard themselves as being in Yorkshire.

“If there was sufficient pressure to change the name, this could be put to the Secretary of State.”

The proposals were mooted by Natural England around five years ago and consultation documents have gone to councils inside the old and proposed boundaries.

Parties outside the current national park area – the northern Howgills Fells, Mallerstang, Barbon and Leck Fells, Firbank Fell, the lower Lune valley and Orton Fell – have until March 17 to respond, while those within the national park have until May 21.

At a January meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA), 19 of the members, including Coun Blackie, voted to support the proposals with two provisos – that the authority received extra revenue to cover the cost of a bigger area and there was no reduction in membership. The YDNPA has 22 members.

Now Coun Blackie is concerned with part of the consultation document which states: “Currently, the Yorkshire Dales National Park does not cover land within Lancashire County Council, Lancaster City Council or Eden District Council.

"Since each local authority is entitled to at least one member on the authority, the membership of the national park authority would have to be re-distributed if the proposed extensions go ahead.”

He claimed four seats – two from North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC), one from Craven District Council and one from Richmond Borough Council – would be replaced with four from the new areas, though these figures have not come from Natural England.

Coun Blackie, a North Yorkshire County Council representative on the YDNPA, has support from the county council, which voted overwhelmingly to object to the proposals. Objections have also been voiced by Craven District Council.

An amendment from NYCC leader John Weighell said the council “strongly objects to the proposal to expand the national park to include areas which do not share the distinctive landscape and cultural character of the Yorkshire Dales”.

But other YDNPA members feel the expansion would be valuable to those districts of Lancashire and Cumbria which would benefit from national park status.

In a message to parish councils, YDNPA chief executive David Butterworth says: “The consultation has involved a considerable number of public meetings in the areas under consideration.

“I and my officers have been a little surprised at the amount of support these proposals received from ordinary members of the public.

“What is becoming increasingly disturbing is the fact that, despite this show of support, the local authorities ... seem to be opposing the boundary changes.”

Currently, 11 per cent of the park is in Cumbria. If all of the proposals go through, this would increase to 27 per cent, with one per cent being in Lancashire and 72 per cent in Yorkshire, he said.

“Questions have been asked of Natural England officials as to whether consideration might be given to a name change: ‘Yorkshire and Westmorland Dales National Park’ or the more frequently used ‘Dales National Park’,” said Mr Butterworth.

This was not part of Natural England’s initial consideration, he said.

But he added: “I should point out there has always been a difference between the ‘Yorkshire Dales’ – which will always be the ‘Yorkshire Dales’ – and the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

"There are some ‘Yorkshire Dales’ that are not in the national park. Nidderdale is one example.

"The national park also contains dales that are not in Yorkshire, such as Dentdale.”

Mr Butterworth said the main issue was: “Do the areas being considered have sufficient natural beauty and offer sufficient opportunities for open-air recreation?

"The view of the national park authority is a resounding yes.”

Yesterday, cabinet members of South Lakeland District Council were recommended by its working group to submit a “qualified objection” to the proposals to trigger a public inquiry and give local residents a chance to fully explore their concerns.

It was stressed in the report that, to maintain “a sense of place”, the extended park would need a new name.

“The working group recommends that, should the proposal for the western extension to the Yorkshire Dales be progressed, recognition of the historic name of Westmorland needs to be made within the name of the national park,” says the report.

Hugh Thornton, chairman of the Yorkshire Dales Society policy committee, said his organisation welcomed the park’s extension, and maintaining ‘Yorkshire’ in the title was of secondary importance.

“I think the Yorkshire Dales National Park is a strong brand name and is important from that point of view, but I would not push it so far as to exclude areas worthy of designation as a national park,” he said.

“In terms of the name, it’s for the Government and the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to decide after listening to reactions to the proposals.

"We would, however, much prefer to keep the name.”