Yorkshire Dales Society

STANDFIRST

Great things often come in small packages – and the Yorkshire Dales Society is no exception. Victoria Benn catches up with their new Chairman, Jon Avison, to learn more about the work they do protecting the Dales we know and love.

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It’s perfectly possible that you’ve never heard of the Yorkshire Dales Society (YDS), nevertheless if you do keep up with local issues, you will most definitely have heard about some of their achievements.

The aims of the YDS are simple; to help protect and champion the Dales in order to preserve the landscape, the culture and the people. In other words they want to keep the Dales prosperous and thriving. With these aims at heart, the YDS has not only got behind, but in some cases has instigated local campaigns and issues which are close to all our hearts.

“A huge triumph for us was the protection of the ‘Green Lanes’, which took several years of campaigning, and finally resulted in new legislation in 2006,” explains Jon Avison former Deputy Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and who is the newly appointed Chairman of the YDS.

“’Green Lanes’ are very characteristic of the Dales; they are un-surfaced walled lanes or tracks over open moorland. Most of these lanes have some kind of historical significance, being either monastic, or dating back to medieval or Roman times. Over the centuries they have served all kinds of needs, most latterly of course for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Unfortunately however, a new generation of off road motor cyclists and 4x4 vehicle owners, began using these old un-surfaced roads as rough terrain ‘challenge’ routes, which was destroying and eroding them at a irrecoverable rate. The YDS brought the matter to the attention of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and then we worked together to secure Traffic Regulation Orders on a significant number of Green Lanes.”

The YDS was in fact founded by former National Park Principal Officer and deviser of the Dales Way, Colin Speakman in 1981, to act as a bridge between the newly established Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP), and the rural communities it was aiming to serve. The aim of the society then, as it is now, was to listen to its members and the community at large, and to reflect their needs in its dealings with the YDNP. On many issues, such as the proposed recent relaxation of rules surrounding planning permissions for remote field barns, the YDS will actively support the YDNP, working with them to lobby at a parliamentary level to bring about policy changes. However on some issues, the YDS may decide to act as more of a ‘critical friend’.

“It’s a difficult relationship to explain,” confides Jon, “However we are both working towards the same aims, just coming at it from different standpoints. Mostly this means we corroborate on issues, but sometimes we feel we have a strong and valid counter argument to present, which we generally find results in better decisions for everybody.”

A current and ongoing campaign that the YDS is involved in, is the lobbying of North Yorkshire County Council regarding the cuts to the rural bus services. As readers to the Craven Herald will know, there has been significant public support against these cuts, and most recently great public dismay at the closure of Pennine Buses. One of the YDS core aims is to promote sustainable tourism within the Yorkshire Dales, and they naturally see a rural bus network as a key component of that.

On this issue they have worked with local and county councillors, as well as local business people to contend that cuts will adversely affect local economies and communities, and to explore and discuss possible solutions. Indeed the YDS set up their own bus management company, The Dales and Bowland Community Interest Group (DBCIC) in 2007, to add weight to their argument that rural bus services can be a commercial success.

The DBCIC, which is a not-for-profit organisation, manages the Sunday and Bank Holiday Dales Bus service throughout the Dales, such as 870 and 874 which enables people from Wakefield and Leeds to travel into the Dales as far as Bolton Abbey and Buckden, the 872 which enables people from Lancashire to have a day out in the Dales, and 873 Skipton to Malham services.

A brief glance through the YDS ‘Quarterly Review’ membership magazine highlights the range of issues that the society is involved in and support, however a key question has to be about their vision for the future, now that they have their new Chairman on board, “Obviously I’m going to be building on the original ethos of the society, however I would like to see us working more cohesively with other local organisations and the YDNP, to champion job and career opportunities for young people across the Dales.” explains Jon.

“We are hosting a conference in October for the all the different National Parks Societies and kindred organisations from all over the UK, to discuss and explore just that question, and to see if there is anything we or they can do to support young people more. We need to promote the Dales as a place to work, and we need to champion change that will not only sustain, but enhance the area. We are hoping a lot of innovative ideas and policies will fall out of the conference.”

A registered charity, with just one paid member of staff, but with a large cohort of experienced volunteers - it is clear that the YDS are a small but very powerful organisation. Their clout comes from their highly qualified team of trustees, and the significant local individual and business membership that they have secured.

It’s a comforting thought that there is an organisation out there that not only has our best interests at heart; but also has a voice which is respected and will be listened to by the people who have the power to change things.

For more information about the YDS, how to join, or get involved, please see www.yds.org.uk

Facebook –YorkshireDalesSociety or telephone 01756 749400