Dales park ‘in danger of lasting damage’ from cuts

Less popular rights of way in the Yorkshire Dales will have to “go by the wayside” – risking deterring visitors – because there will not be enough staff or resources to maintain them.

Chief executive of the National Park Authority David Butterworth urged local communities to stand up for the park and warned Ministers the debate is “not finished” as Labour accused the Government of attacking the countryside with cuts of 28 per cent on National Park budgets.

Bosses at the North York Moors also warned that park will “undoubtedly be affected” by savings it is being forced to make although it is yet to decide where the biggest cuts will fall.

The warnings come in the wake of a report by regional research body Yorkshire Futures which criticises policy-makers for failing to account for the “hidden” benefits obtained by natural resources and warns the region’s environment is now “in decline” because it has been “taken for granted”.

Both parks – which attract a combined 16 million visitors a year – are expected to lose about £1.2m of their £5.4m Government funding over the next four years. Funding from other sources is also being cut.

The Yorkshire Post has previously reported how the Dales is having to cut a third of its jobs as well as funding for bus services, graduate trainee places and apprenticeships and education work. The future of visitor centres is likely to come under review, but potentially the most controversial consequence would be the degradation of less well used footpaths.

Despite a statutory duty on the National Park Authority to maintain the paths, Mr Butterworth said attention would have to be focused on protecting areas such as the Three Peaks and “letting some others go by the wayside because we’re just not able to put the resources in” – potentially leaving the authority vulnerable to a legal challenge.

Mr Butterworth said: “Rural communities and those people who are passionate about the environment and conservation – of which I’m one – and those people who think climate change is not last year’s agenda, I would hope they would have the spirit to say ‘hang on, this is not as it should be, these places are worth fighting for’.

“The argument and debate is not finished as far as I’m concerned. I do want to press home to Government that these are valuable areas and it might be just worth thinking about where policy appears to be taking us.”

Criticising the message from Ministers that the money can be saved through efficiencies, he added: “We can’t find £2m in paper clips.”

Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh said: “Our National Parks are a unique part of British life and families have visited and enjoyed them for generations. After the forests debacle the Tory-led Government are imposing a 28 per cent cut on the National Parks in yet another attack on the countryside.

“This is bad news for families and walkers and will lead to higher parking charges and visitor centres closing.”

The prospect of another countryside protest in the wake of the outcry over privatising the forests will not be welcomed by Ministers.

Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith, who has been critical of the authority for failing to listen to concerns of residents and businesses, said: “Clearly it’s a real shame jobs are being lost but the park does need to go about its activities in a more efficient way.”