The Great National Parks Plan

National Parks:  Beacons for a Sustainable Future

Seventy-five years ago Britain’s first National Parks were designated , as part of the same national rebuilding effort that gave rise to the NHS.

National Parks represent our finest landscapes, famed for their spectacular beauty, rare flora and fauna and rich cultural heritage. They are vital recreational and breathing spaces, attracting 90 million visitors a year; they act as bastions for biodiversity; and they are working landscapes hosting thriving communities. But they can be more. With the right support, National Parks can become beacons for a sustainable future by playing a leading role in tackling the climate crisis, ensuring nature’s recovery, boosting our economy and contributing even further to the health and wellbeing of the nation.

The relevance of National Parks to environmental and agricultural policy is self-evident, but the benefits they bring to society radiate across the social fabric and impact on other policy areas, such as energy, social care, health and wellbeing, arts and culture, transport, economic growth and planning.

In 2024 and beyond, we need a commitment to National Parks that will fully unlock the huge benefits they can deliver for nature, climate and people. This Great National Parks Plan would frame a nature-led mission for National Parks to use our expertise in convening enduring partnerships and address our collective national concerns, ensuring we are a major contributor to the UK’s legal obligations on net zero and nature, while also having far-reaching positive impacts across communities and society at large.

How National Parks deliver for Society and Communities

National Parks use our partnerships, powers and resources to deliver on six key policy areas at landscape scale:

  • Nature Recovery  -  Restoring wildlife and meeting Environment Act targets  

  • Energy and Net Zero - Contributing to Britain reaching net zero as a climate change leader        

  • Driving Economic Growth – Supporting the agricultural transition, creating green jobs and apprenticeships & building ‘green finance’ markets

  • Health and Wellbeing - Helping people live well for longer              

  • Access to Nature – Enhanced public access for everyone       

  • Education and future generations- Preparing young people for the future

We  ask Government to work with us to strengthen the three building blocks of how we work, enabling us to unlock the massive potential in National Parks to tackle the climate crisis and ensure nature’s recovery.

POWERS

Implement existing legislation that bolsters National Parks’ contribution for nature and climate

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 provided a new duty on Statutory Bodies to seek to further the statutory purposes of National Park work. This must now be followed up urgently with:

  • Clear guidance that set out how relevant authorities must comply with the new duty.

  • Further legislation to require Management Plans to deliver targets set out in The Environment Act 2021 and require relevant authorities to contribute to the preparation, implementation or review of Management Plans.

PARTNERSHIPS

Ensure we and our partners have the tools to convene partnerships and deliver for nature and climate

  • Ensure stable, long-term funding for farmers and landowners including

    • Extend the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme (FiPL) to 2027, with a plan to embed within ELMS

    • Make a long-term commitment to local advice and facilitation to help farmers, land managers and landowners

  • Continued funding of National Parks 'green finance' activity to unlock private finance at scale for woodland planting, peatland restoration and biodiversity enhancement.

  • Provide the chance for every school child to connect with nature via long term funding for the Access Unlimited Partnership delivering Generation Green.

RESOURCES

Restore lost funding within National Parks

We are asking for a multi-year commitment to core National Park Authority infrastructure funding and a commitment to increase this funding over the next three years. Cuts over the last 15 years have resulted in an annual shortfall in National Park Authority funding of around £30M.  The total amount lost since 2010 is £230m.

In addition, to realise our ambitions to scale up nature recovery and access to nature work and contribute further to statutory targets on Environmental Improvement, we would like to see a range of measures:

  • £4.5M funding for 'nature teams' embedded within National Parks able to catalyse the delivery of £800m of identified nature restoration work.

  • Extend the Nature for Climate Fund to provide funding for practical nature and climate projects.