We have two national parks in North Yorkshire - the North York Moors National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Last year the Government confirmed extensions to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, forming a 'bridge' between the two parks. So, it could be said that our Government understands the importance of National Parks and the vital role they play for economy and well being.
But, and why is there always a but....
Have we dropped the ball with national parks protection?
CPRENY certainly have not.
We recently took part in the Sheffield Hallam University study organised by CPRE, the Campaign for National Parks and the National Trust.
The project investigated, in unprecendented details, the national policy to control major development in the parks.
In North Yorkshire, we are also concentrating on the impact of major developments on the edge of a National Park - those with the potential to impact adversly on the setting of that designated land. We were recently faced with the KM8 application at Kirkby Moorside on the edge of the NYMNP and currently are campaigning hard against a major threat on the boundary of the YDNP at Hellifield in Craven.
See the attached document - Going Going Gone,