Brexit could leave national parks '˜struggling to make ends meet'

According to figures obtained under a Freedom of Information request, national parks in England have received almost £6.4m from the EU over the last five years, with the Peak District accounting for £3.6m.

There have been growing concerns in recent years about the decline in Government funding for these sites, with an investigation in 2016 revealing that spending on national parks has been cut by a quarter since 2011.

Responding to the latest figures, supporters of Open Britain campaign group called on the Government to commit to matching EU funding to ensure parks can continue to do their jobs.

“Our beautiful and precious national parks are one of the many things that make Britain Great,” said the Wakefield MP and Environmental Audit Committee chair, Mary Creagh. “Money from the EU is a vital source of funding for them, without which they would struggle to make ends meet.

“The Peak District alone has received over £3.6m across the last five years, directly from European Commission funding, by far the most of any English national park. If that source of funding is lost, the people who work so hard to maintain our national parks would find it much harder to do their jobs effectively.

“No-one voted in the referendum to give less money to national parks, or to damage our countryside. If the Government cannot guarantee equal or increased levels of funding, people have the right to keep an open mind about our future relationship with Europe.”

The figures show that the Peak District received £941,951 in the 2016/17 financial year, on top of £2.69m received between 2012/13-2014/15. This is set against a background of falling funds from central government, with the park receiving £6.3m in 2015/16 compared to £7.4m in 2012/13.

The Lake District in Cumbria and New Forest in Hampshire are also major recipients of EU money. The North York Moors has been a beneficiary in the past, receiving £40,000 in 2012/13.

The publication comes amid renewed calls for the Government to provide greater clarity on its plans to replace European regional funding streams with a new UK Prosperity Fund. Authorities in Yorkshire have been allocated millions of pounds-worth of investment through the EU’s social and regional development schemes between 2014-2020, but there is uncertainty around how much of this will be secured before the UK leaves in 2019.

The head of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, used last week’s Budget to issue a plea to the Chancellor to “set out clear proposals for the size, scope and allocation” of the new fund. “While there has been much debate about the potential cliff-edge facing business... little attention has been given to the impending loss of hundreds of millions of pounds in European funding which currently supports economic growth,” she said.

Responding to the FOI figures, a Government spokesman said: “National Parks are some of our most treasured landscapes and as we work towards a Green Brexit we are committed to helping them thrive. We have increased their budgets each year since 2015, and by 2020 we will have given our National Parks more than £200m in funding.”