Landscape charity Friends of the Lake District has today welcomed a far reaching ‘Landscape Review’ led by Julian Glover on behalf of Environment Secretary Michael Gove.
Members of the public are being invited to make their views known in what is the first major review of its kind since our National Parks were established in 1949.
Everyone is being encouraged to contribute to the review, whether living in a national park or AONB, running a business in them, enjoying visits, caring about landscapes and biodiversity, or representing organisations with views that might shape and improve its findings. It is an opportunity to let the Government know how we want our protected landscapes to look and how they should be managed in the future.
Andrew Tait, policy officer at Friends of the Lake District said: “National Parks and AONBs are a great post-war success story, but more can be done to ensure that they fulfil their purpose and the reason for their designation. Our National Parks were created to conserve and enhance natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage and promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of their special qualities by the public.
“We already work with partner organisations on our own landholdings within the Lake District to enshrine these purposes. Farmers and other land managers are critical to looking after our landscape and have a vital role in improving biodiversity as well as facing the challenges of a changing climate. We believe that this review should investigate how the ‘public benefits’ of landscape can be emphasised and how we can further support the role of land owners and farmers in delivering them.”
You can participate in the review by visiting: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/land-use/landscapes-review-call-for-evidence
The deadline for public submissions is December 18th 2018. The review will report next year, 70 years after the landmark National Parks Act 1949 that established National Parks in England and it will consider all aspects of England’s National Parks and AONB’s.
