Landscape is legacy for planning chief

Being responsible for the world famous landscape of the North York Moors has been a dream job for National Park planning chief Val Dilcock, who is to retire. David Jeffels meets her.

THE WOMAN who has helped to mastermind the landscape of the 554 square miles of the North York Moors National Park, Val Dilcock, is retiring after 35 years.

She joined the Helmsley-based park authority as a planning assistant, and gradually won promotion until she became chief planning officer in 1989.

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"Being a planning officer in the National Park is a dream job," said diminutive Val, who over the years has become a giant on the national planning stage.

"I have always been committed to the ethos of the park, and what planning officer wouldn't relish working in what is one of

the most beautiful parts of the country?"

Made an MBE in the New Year's Honours List, Val says that as well as working to retain its special landscape and character, the National Park has a major role in working with its hundreds of communities to ensure what she describes as "a living and working landscape".

There is a tendency, said Val, for people to move in to the park, to retire or as commuters, and tension results when development plans are submitted by local residents.

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"It is a balance between having a park which is a living workplace, and being a dormitory."

She has played a key part in influencing planning policies at a national level through the Royal Town Planning Institute and other planning organisations.

"Sometimes you have got to be brave – it can often be too easy to reject developments which are different."

In recent years she has masterminded many major initiatives and highlights such iconic developments as the newly-opened eco-friendly Stanbrook Monastery at Wass, the Forestry Commission's Dalby Visitor Centre, the Danby Medical Centre and developments at the Camphill Village at Botton, as being among the most radical in planning terms.

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Looking to the future, she sees the provision of affordable housing for local people, as one of the main issues in the planning field.

Andy Wilson, the park's chief executive, said of her: "Val has shown huge dedication to the park, often making difficult decisions.

"While some people may have disagreed with her, she was not only respected in the park, but also at a national level.

"She has worked hard to ensure the park has not become a museum, but retains its role as a living, working landscape."

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