An often-overlooked function of our small charity is its team of experienced (volunteer!) former planners and environmentalists who scrutinise all significant planning applications to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA). Each year it comments, supports or objects on more than forty applications noting alignment (or not) with the YDNPA’s published policies, in particular those upholding the key purposes of national parks for conservation and public enjoyment.
The team also takes a keen interest in public consultations affecting the Yorkshire Dales, the most recent of which was the National Park Management Plan 2025-2030 written and to be prospectively delivered by a Partnership headed up by the Authority and including organisations such as North Yorkshire Council, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Farmer Network Yorkshire. This important document once finalised will lay out not only the vision for the Yorkshire Dales for the next five years, but clear targets in terms of how it is going to achieve its six key objectives:
- A distinctive, living, working, cultural landscape that tells the ongoing story of generations of people interacting with their environment.
- A friendly, open and welcoming place with outstanding opportunities to enjoy its special qualities.
- Home to the finest variety of wildlife in England.
- Resilient and responsive to the impacts of climate change, storing more carbon each year than it produces.
- Providing an outstanding range of benefits for the nation based on its natural resources, landscape and cultural heritage, which underpin a flourishing local economy.
- Home to strong, self-reliant and balanced communities with good access to the services they need.
Having reviewed this consultation document we have submitted our comprehensive response, raising key points against all six objectives.
In summary, whilst we applaud and uphold many of the ambitions of the National Park Management Plan Partnership, we also specifically challenge it to explore nature resilience targets not just in relation to trees, wood pasture and hedgerows but also for hay meadows, wetland and river restoration and peatlands. Another concern we highlight is the need to strengthen the objective preventing the ongoing illegal killing and disturbance of birds of prey.
An area where we believe we can specifically support the Authority is in reducing emissions from travel by our ongoing work lobbying for improved and better integrated public transport systems through our subsidiary Dales & Bowland CIC (trading name – Dalesbus). These are vital not only for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (transport is the second largest source of these in the national park), but for addressing the pressure on Dales roads and parking infrastructure and also to better support residents and those wanting to access the Yorkshire Dales for nature.
You can read our full response here.