True value of national parks

A place where people can escape the rigours of the country's spending restraints, the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors remain iconic locations that help to underpin this area's 6.5bn tourism industry.

However, their breathtaking beauty would not remain such a constant source of inspiration, and relaxation, without very careful management by the authorities that govern the national parks.

These are not big budget quangos compared to those councils, and public bodies, who are facing the full force of the coalition's cuts. They are, on the whole, organisations who are quietly efficient in preserving the landscape that so many people take for granted while also trying to secure new means of investment to sustain picture postcard rural communities.

Yet, while such authorities would not expect to be immune from efficiency savings, it must be borne in mind that their budgets were already cut to the bone by the previous Labour government which did not understand, or appreciate, the countryside's economic importance.

It also has to be remembered that a spending cut of up to 35 per cent, as suggested in the Yorkshire Dales, will have a far greater impact on an organisation with a limited budget than a public body which has a huge level of staff, and a myriad of different responsibilities.

This does not apply to national park authorities. They have a narrow remit and are already run on a shoestring. The consequence of an even more draconian funding settlement is the likelihood that these locations will lose some of their appeal because vital maintenance work, and such like, is put off.

Having moved so swiftly to start cutting the deficit, the Government now needs to start thinking through the consequences of its decisions before Ministers inadvertently cause lasting damage to the countryside and the economy.