75 years of national parks: time for a renewed ambition

When Sir Patrick Abercrombie founded CPRE in 1926 he called for ‘a bold and wide policy’ for national parks.

This was followed by years of determined campaigning from CPRE, Ramblers, YHA and other organisations, and growing public awareness of the need to preserve the countryside amid rapid urbanisation and industrialisation.

In 1932, the same year as the Kinder Scout trespass, CPRE’s Phil Barnes published a report calling for increased access to benefit the people of Manchester and Sheffield.

The National Park and Countryside Act 1949 that followed was a visionary piece of legislation that put spatial planning on the map and led to the creation of a network of protected landscapes for the nation.

While much of the focus on the post-War Attlee government was, rightly, on the creation of the NHS, improving public transport, and the provision of social housing. However, no less radical was the Town and Country Planning Act in 1947 and the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act in 1949. The need for infrastructure and social reform was balanced with pioneering protections for our countryside. The idea of natural beauty and the importance of our landscapes to all areas of public life, were seem in harmony with ideas like the founding of the NHS. Then and now the public understood this, with a recent poll showing the NHS and the countryside ranked top in the list what people value most.

Now, as we celebrate the 75th year anniversary of national parks, these landscapes have never had a more important role in our future.

Facing into the challenges

This month, Sir Keir Starmer has set out his government’s Plan for Change strategy, with ambitious targets in key policy areas. What better time for the government to renew its commitment to national parks with strategic land use planning and strengthened protections for these irreplaceable landscapes.

Over the past 75 years, national parks have faced growing threats, from urban sprawl and industrial development to the impacts of tourism and most critical of all the climate and nature crises.

When in 2019 the Conservative government responded to the Glover Review it had commissioned, it failed to grasp the importance of National Parks and National Landscapes (then known as AONBs) to people, nature, climate and landscape. Now the current government must face into the challenges head-on, but so far has failed to meet the ambition of previous Labour administrations.

Given that the campaign for national parks in the early 20th century was inspired by those wild landscapes in the US, faced with the climate and biodiversity crisis, it’s time for all our protected landscapes to get much wilder. Labour campaigned for national parks to become wilder and greener in the run up to the election, but we are worried that the recent budget might threaten this in both our national parks and national landscapes. We recognise the need to balance the books, but even modest increases to funding could be transformative for what should be the jewels in the crown of our countryside.

For example, national parks make a huge contribution to the economy and tourism is an important part of that contribution. Visitors to the Lake District peaked in 2019, at 19.89 million according to Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) figures. We believe that local authorities must have powers to regulate holiday lets to restore balance and protect rural communities.

Around 399,400 people lived in national parks in England and Wales in 2021, according to ONS data. Only with empowered communities who have a say on what goes where can national parks continue to thrive and evolve.

Indeed, national parks are critical for sustainable development and provide a model for how conservation and economic growth can coexist.

It’s the care and tireless efforts of farmers and communities that have made these landscapes what they are today – places where nature, history, and culture can co-exist.

Communities making an impact

CPRE’s local groups have been part of the national park story from the start.

This year over 70 volunteers joined Friends of the Lakes District to plant nearly 400 metres of hedgerow at the Alpacaly Ever After farm between Keswick and Penrith. Over two days in October, they managed to get 2,340 new native hedge plants in the ground to create two new hedgerows.

In September, CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire (CPRE PDSY) announced the launch of a new free mobile app for the Peak District Boundary Walk, created by a volunteer in honour of the charity’s Centenary year. This innovative app celebrates the remarkable work of CPRE PDSY’s founder, Ethel Haythornthwaite and her husband Gerald, who were instrumental in the creation of Britain’s first national park, the Peak District.

In late 2022 we celebrated when the final pylon came down in a stretch of the Peak District National Park as a result of CPRE campaigning. The Peak District power line from Dunford Bridge through the Upper Don Valley to Castle Hill is now underground for 1.5km.

These are just three examples of the how CPRE local groups are working in communities to help make a real impact in national parks.

A renewed plan for national parks

As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the national parks, we are reminded of their dual purpose: to conserve and enhance natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage, and to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of national parks by the public.

It’s of vital importance that these landscapes are protected for future generations, so that they too can experience the wonder of these majestic, wild places.

We urge the government to make good on its election commitment to make national parks wilder and greener – and take inspiration from the pioneering campaigners, hard-working communities and the post-War government that brought national parks into law 75 years ago.

The next 75 years will see new technologies and approaches to enhance visitor engagement while reducing pressure on the land. Yet in the face of unprecedented challenges, what is needed most is an ambitious plan with stronger long-term protections and enhancement of national parks, our most treasured landscapes.