The North York Moors National Park Authority has expressed concern over reports that the UK Government is preparing to weaken policies designed to safeguard England’s National Parks and National Landscapes.
According to recent reporting by The Times, Ministers are considering an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that would repeal the statutory duty requiring public bodies to 'seek to further' the purposes of National Parks. This legal duty, introduced in late 2023 through the Government’s own Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA), ensures that organisations such as local authorities and infrastructure providers are encouraged to work collaboratively with National Parks when carrying out their work.
The National Park Authority believes that any weakening of this new duty would represent a significant and regrettable step backward in the protection and enhancement of England’s most valued landscapes. It says there is no indication that the new duty has hindered or prevented sustainable development within the North York Moors claiming that In fact there are signs it is leading to even greater engagement by partners, including water companies, in supporting conservation efforts across the landscape.
The authority says that the proposed change appears to be "directly at odds" with the Government’s stated intentions to strengthen collaboration between public bodies and support the delivery of Management Plan outcomes across protected areas.
In response to the news, National Parks England issued the following statement from Tom Hind, Chief Executive of North York Moors National Park Authority:
“We’re extremely disappointed and disturbed by news that Government may seek to water down or repeal the Protected Landscapes duty. To do so would be a massive backward step in the context of delivering Government’s ambitions to conserve 30% of land for nature by 2030.
“As Government’s own guidance points out, the duty, which only came into force in late 2023 is ‘intended to facilitate better outcomes for England’s Protected Landscapes’ and ‘… does not prevent relevant authorities from undertaking their statutory functions and discharging their legal duties and other responsibilities’.
“The 'seek to further' duty was a positive step in fostering much greater collaboration between public bodies to ensure National Parks and National Landscapes can make an even greater contribution to addressing nature depletion, habitat loss and public access to nature. Amongst other things, the duty has helped build stronger partnerships with so-called statutory undertakers such as water companies.
“Against a backdrop of significant and long-term declines in funding to National Parks, the duty has the potential to help galvanise resources from across Government to support the upkeep and enhancement of our most iconic landscapes and meet Government’s own statutory targets for nature and biodiversity.
“We call on Government to think carefully before proceeding with such a sweeping and blanket U-turn that could undermine all of the positive collaboration that the duty has helped to foster. Instead, it should look to use the provisions of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA) that enable government to more clearly interpret the Duty.”
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