As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Park movement and 70th anniversary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, we reflect back on their origins.
At the end of the Second World War, the Labour government set up committees to examine long-term land use and ‘nature preservation’ became part of the post-war reconstruction effort. Thanks to the pre-war campaigns there was an emphasis on making countryside available for recreation for all, not just nature conservation. In 1945, John Dower – secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks – produced a report on how national parks could work in England and Wales. The 1945 Dower Report led directly to Sir Arthur Hobhouse’s 1947 report which prepared the legislation for the creation of national parks in England and Wales.*
You can review the report and fascinating map created by Arthur Hobhouse denoting the proposed national parks and conservation areas across England, Scotland and Wales in 1947 via the links below:
Photo: The Howgill Fells became part of the Yorkshire Dales (as per Hobhouse and Dower’s original 1947 proposal) in 2016 after a long campaign supported by ourselves, YDNPA, Lake District National Park Authority, Friends of the Lake District and Campaign for National Parks.
*Source: Peak District National Park Authority