National Parks

1. National Parks • National Parks in the UK are extensive areas, each with their own managing authority • In other countries National Parks are usually established primarily for wildlife conservation

2. What are National Parks? There are 12 National Parks in England and Wales. The New Forest became a National Park in 2005. The South Downs is currently in the process of being designated a National Park. There are two National Parks in Scotland – The Cairngorms, and Loch Lomand & the Trossachs.

3. What are National Parks? National Parks are protected areas of natural beauty. The areas include mountains, moorland, heathland, woodland and coasts. National Parks are not theme parks – they are not fenced off and people live and work in them. Each National Park is managed by a National Park Authority (NPA), which works to balance the needs of the landscape, the residents and the visitors. Snowdonia Exmoor

4. The Aims of National Parks • The statutory purposes of National Parks as stated in the  Environment Act, 1995 are: • to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Parks. • to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the National Parks by the public. • The National Park Authorities also have a duty to seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the National Parks.

5. Why are National Parks Different to Country Parks? • A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. • There are over 270 country parks in England most of which are owned and managed by local authorities. • Country Parks are a lasting and popular legacy of the provisions of the Countryside Act 1968. • We will come back to Country Parks in a few lessons time…

6. Lake District - The Lake District is England's biggest and probably best known National Park. - 2,292 sq km of moorland and fell.  • 16 lakes, of which Windermere is the largest. - Around Skiddaw, and in the south of the Park, are angular and rounded hills; the central area, including Scafell Pike, is wild and rugged country • Crowded in summer, Windermere and Ambleside are boating and touring centers. The Lake District National Park was created by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and came into being on 15 August 1951. It is looked after by the Lake District National Park Authority. http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/index.htm

7. Major honeypot areas in the Lake District Major honeypot areas

8. Why do people visit the Lake District? Study the photographs!

9. Why do people visit the Lake District? • Cool, clear lakes, tarns and rivers • Ancient woodlands - rich in Atlantic mosses and liverworts, ferns and lichen. Presence of wood pasture, pollards and old coppice woodland form part of the rich cultural heritage of the National Park. • Diverse landscape - mix of lakes, farmland, fell, woodland and settlement. • Wealth of wildlife - abundant and varied freshwater habitats. Key habitats include mires, limestone pavement, upland heath, screes and artic-alpine communities, lakeshore wetlands, estuary, coastal heath and dunes. • Opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities... • Open nature of the fells

10. Why do people visit the Lake District? • Complex geology - record of nearly 500 million years. • Concentration of common land - the largest concentration of common land in Britain. Collective management is characterised by landlords' flocks and the use of traditional breeds including Herdwick sheep. • Rich archaeology - Internationally important archaeological monuments include stone circles, Roman roads and forts, and charcoal blast furnaces. The high rainfall has assisted water power as a prime source of energy for mining, gunpowder and wood-processing industries. • Distinctive settlement character - Local materials, including types of slate. Finishes such as lime wash, and the use of sandstone, granite and limestone. Dry stone walls and hedgerows. Chimneys, windows and walling, and structures such as hogg houses, peat houses, packhorse bridges and bank barns reflect local building practices. • Celebrated cultural traditions - writers and environmentalists have campaigned for landscape protection. Artists and writers, such as Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter have gained inspiration from the area.

11. What are the consequences of tourism in the Lake District? Study the photographs!

12. Topic 11: Land Use Resources • 1.) A landowner has been refused planning permission to build and run a café on the banks of a lake which is situated inside a National Park. The landowner has obtained a petition, signed by over 100 visitors to the lake, supporting the idea of developing the café. Arguing that the development of the café is consistent with the purpose of the National Park, the landowner intends to appeal against the decision. • (a) Suggest two reasons why planning permission has been refused (2 marks) • (b) Suggest why the development of the café might be considered consistent with the purpose of the National Park (2 marks)

13. Topic 11: Land Use Resources • 1 (a) • Spoil scenery/unsightly; • Attract crowds/cause congestion/act as honey pot/encourage development/car parks; • Existing provision; • Wildlife/habitat disturbance/trampling/waste/water pollution/litter; MAX 2 • 1 (b) • Will generate income for locals/economic purpose of park; reference to recreation/attracting or catering for visitors/amenity. MAX 2

14. Conflicts and Problems… Locals Visitors The Lake District National Park Economic Uses E.g. Quarrying Second Homes

15. Today • Given more time to work on your speeches and potential answers to questions that may be posed to you during the public enquiry • Public Enquiry is held • Secretary of State for Department of Environment makes their final decision after the enquiry is held

16. Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP • Leads on: • Overall responsibility for all Departmental issues • Represents the UK at the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council at the EU Environmental Council • Leads for the UK in other international negotiations on sustainable development.

17. Public Enquiries • Held when there is a disagreement and for all large developments e.g. major roads, power stations, airports, mines etc. Then… • Environmental Impact Assessments – done to ensure that every possible impact in the planning process is considered • Leopold Matrix – used to illustrate how the importance of individual issues can be quantified and compared

18. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) • EIA is a procedure that must be followed for certain types of development before they are granted development consent. • The requirement for EIA comes from a European Directive (85/33/EEC as amended by 97/11/EC). • The procedure requires the developer to compile an Environmental Statement (ES) describing the likely significant effects of the development on the environment and proposed mitigation measures. • The ES must be circulated to statutory consultation bodies (e.g. Environmental Agency, English Nature) and made available to the public for comment. • Its contents, together with any comments, must be taken into account by the competent authority (e.g. local planning authority) before it may grant consent.

19. Leopold Matrix • A qualitative environmental impact assessment method, used to identify the potential environmental impact of a project on the environment. • The system consists in a matrix with columns representing the various activities of the project, and rows representing the various environmental factors to be considered. The intersections are filled in to indicate the magnitude (from -10 to +10) and the importance (from 1 to 10) of the impact of each activity on each environmental factor. • For example, a stream that significantly alters the erosion patterns in a specific area, which will have a significant magnitude, but may not be important, provided the stream in question is swift moving and transports large amounts of soil anyway. In this case, an impact of significant magnitude may not actually be important to the environment in question. • http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/V9933E/V9933E02.htm

20. Problems in a National Park

21. Public Enquiry • You will be assigned a position out of: - Local - Tourist - NPA • Miner/Quarry/Forestry Worker - Environmentalist You need to think about: • How you would feel about the problems we have talked about which occur in National Parks • How you would like to see the problems solved • How this could be done. You need to: - Do some research into how the problems impact National Parks • Write a speech to present to all the other positions • Think about the questions you will pose to other groups during the enquiry and potential answers to questions they may ask you!

22. Major Causes of Land-use Conflicts • Urban Expansion – e.g. London and its satellite towns • Transport Developments: new/enlarged roads e.g. M6 toll road • Proposed/enlarged airports e.g. Heathrow • Port Developments • Mining/quarrying – e.g. limestone in the Peak District • Harnessing Energy • Windfarms – e.g. in areas of scenic beauty • Powerstations – e.g Dinorwig HEP station in Snowdonia National Park • Recreation and Tourism – e.g. recreation pressure in National Parks

23. Methods of Resolving Land-Use Conflicts • 1.) Legislative Methods – statutory planning controls and restrictions • 2.) Strict Planning Controls • 3.) Public Enquires • 4.) Space Zoning – allocation of different areas for activities that would conflict e.g. on a lake • 5.) Time Zoning – allocation of different time periods for activities that would conflict • 6.) Economic Methods – e.g. Cost Benefit Analysis

24. Legislative Methods • Statutory planning and controls and restrictions • Planning applications are granted if they are appropriate within local and national planning strategies of the local planning authority and the Government • Areas with very strict planning controls = 1.) National Parks – essential/desirable urban developments for the existing local community/economy 2.) Greenbelts – to prevent urban sprawl, formation of conurbations and encourage use of brownfield sites.

25. Economic Methods • Cost Benefit Analysis – a monetary value is ascribed to each of the costs and benefits of a proposal. • Costs include: • Direct costs e.g. labour to build a by-pass • Indirect costs e.g. the value of the wetland area that could have been created by the labour force is they weren’t building the by-pass • Intangibles e.g. what is the value of the hay meadow that is going to disappear under the by-pass • Benefits include reduced noise, congestion, vibration, air pollution etc. in the by-passed village • Benefits – Costs = if the benefits exceed the costs then the proposal may be recommended.