It’s a fact the UK’s 15 national parks have clearly delineated boundaries, yet the hinterlands of these landscapes need as much protection as the parks themselves, since nature and river catchments do not recognise arbitrary, manmade confines. Planning applications in such fringe areas, especially those on a significant scale, must therefore be reviewed with their wider implications and impacts in mind.
With a track record of more than 40 years as an independent but informed reviewer of planning applications affecting the Yorkshire Dales National Park, our own experienced Policy and Planning committee review hundreds of planning applications each year, commenting on 30-40 really significant ones. Such applications include the one at Hellifield Flashes (2020/21553/OUT – review in NYC Planning Portal) requesting permission to build a holiday park on the outskirts of the village – a site visible from the nearby boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Especially noteworthy in the case of this particular application, is that it has a long ‘history’, this most recent application being a resubmission of a near identical one which was refused in 2019.
We submitted two strong and detailed objections to this recent application in December 2024. Our objections are rooted not only in the plethora of evidence previously collated by respected conservation charities such as Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (which has also lodged a second objection) and Natural England − both of which vehemently opposed the original application, but because of the now clear evidence that nature in our national park is in serious decline.*
A further essential change through which this application must be reviewed is the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA) which became law in 2023. This is designed to strengthen the purposes of Protected Landscapes and give them a stronger mandate on nature recovery and widen the public’s access to nature. In a nutshell the Act states that the relevant authorities, e.g. North Yorkshire Council (NYC) “must seek to further the purposes” of the national park. And, if a conflict does arise they “must attach greater weight to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area” – also known as the Sandford Principle. The Act also states that the duty applies to activities undertaken outside the boundary of a Protected Landscape, known as the ‘setting’ which will have an impact within it.
Current understanding of climate breakdown and calls for action have also crystallised in the public consciousness since 2019 when the previous application was refused. Also worth noting is that both NYC and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) are signatories to the Carbon Reduction Plan because of environmental issues, and YDNPA is also signatory to the global Race to Zero initiative.
Hellifield Flashes is an extremely valuable site for wildlife, especially birds and Great Crested Newts. Many of the wetland birds visiting the site from spring to autumn are listed as vulnerable or even on the UK Red List, for example Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing and Curlew. As well as the Flashes, these birds also use the wet fields to feed including those where the 73 holiday park lodges are being proposed to be built.
We very much hope that North Yorkshire Council instigates a deep review of the site, the planning history and the current Local Plan to reflect all that has changed, and in the meantime pauses for some consideration of this application.
You can read our detailed objections to this most recent planning application here.
*The state of nature evidenced in the Yorkshire Dales National Park Management Plan 2019-24 progress reports and Campaign for National Parks (CNP) National Parks Health Check Report
Image: Hellifield Flashes in 2016 by Ann Shadrake