Green groups criticise plans to weaken protections for English national parks | National parks

Plans to water down protections for national parks such as Dartmoor and the Lake District in a “knee-jerk attempt at growth” will be devastating for nature, more than 170 organizations have told the Prime Minister.

The Treasury is reportedly pushing for a weakening of protections for England’s national parks and national landscapes as part of changes to planning law to make it easier for developers to build homes and infrastructure projects.

National parks were created by the Labor government of Clement Attlee under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Keir Starmer’s Labor government said protecting and improving national parks was essential to its mission to restore nature and improve the nation’s health through access to green spaces. Ministers celebrated the parks last year on the 75th anniversary of their creation.

But a change proposed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to the Planning Bill would remove the essential duty of councils and other public bodies to protect and showcase nature and wildlife in national parks, significantly weakening protection for these much-loved areas, charities say.

It is understood discussions about the changes are underway within government and ministers have until Monday to propose amendments to the planning bill. However, a government spokesperson told the Guardian it was false to say these changes were being discussed.

Rose O’Neill, chief executive of the Campaign for National Parks, said there was no evidence that requiring parks to be valued stopped growth. She said the last-minute proposal was a knee-jerk reaction backed by no evidence.

“Keir Starmer has spoken so much about his love of national parks and the Lake District, so we are asking him to stop that,” she said. “We do not believe that removing this requirement will help boost growth; in fact, it will slow development. There has been no public consultation on what amounts to a serious weakening of the protection of national parks and landscapes. It was only in December last year that this government celebrated their 75th anniversary as part of the post-war Labor legacy.”

Currently, public bodies must “seek to promote” the statutory objectives of national parks, which are to conserve and enhance their natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage, from the outset of any planning process and to mitigate any harm. This obligation, contained in the Leveling up and Regeneration Act 2023, was supported by the Labor opposition.

Any weakening of protections will likely make it easier to build roads and other major infrastructure in national parks including Dartmoor, New Forest and Lake District, the organizations say.

The Guardian recently revealed that the UK ranks among the worst countries in Europe in terms of sacrificing green space for development. Thousands of England’s natural sites are under threat from Labour’s planning proposals.

In a letter to Starmer on Tuesday, more than 170 groups – including the RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, Rivers Trust and National Trust – said national parks and landscapes were enjoyed by 245 million visitors a year, generating £36 billion for the economy. They called on Starmer to step in and ensure there is no rollback of protections, citing his stated love of the Lake District.

The letter read: “[National parks] were created after the Second World War as part of national renewal, driven by a Labor government who understood the value of such places to the nation and that the simple joy of beautiful scenery was part of what made a good life, which should be the right of every citizen, whether they lived in town or in the countryside.

“Now we understand that some members of your government intend to significantly weaken protections by removing the obligation to protect landscapes, a decision at odds with this proud history and values. »

Reeves has been looking at ways to strengthen the planning bill, which is currently in the House of Lords, the Guardian revealed. She is set to announce her support for changes to the bill in the hope it will pass the Lords and receive royal assent ahead of her Budget next month. She hopes the construction of 1.5 million homes and key infrastructure projects will plug £3 billion of an estimated £30 billion financial gap.

But in the letter delivered Tuesday, nature protection organizations say that the health of the environment is the basis of the health of the economy.

“An imbalance will have devastating consequences – and future generations will inherit this mess,” he said. “Clement Attlee’s post-war government understood this: that’s why it created national parks and national landscapes…protecting landscapes alongside rapid housing construction. »

A government spokesperson told the Guardian: “These claims are false. We will provide the infrastructure and 1.5 million homes the country needs while preserving the natural beauty of our protected landscapes.”