As a councillor and former cabinet member for rural affairs in an area that contains some of Southdowns National Park, I know first hand how these unelected, undemocratic bodies are harming resident’s rights to live and improve their lot.
Our National Parks are areas of outstanding natural beauty, designated for their unique landscapes, wildlife, and cultural heritage, and are meant to be places where people can connect with the landscape. Whilst visitors may wonder at our parks, residents who reside in them are becoming increasingly frustrated by their failure to support prosperity and delivering value for their communities.
I know first-hand the stories from locals whose life choices have been stymied by the draconian planning restrictions. Whether that is the tenant farmer who has planning permission denied for a house next to his barns or the community that wants affordable housing in their village on the boundary with the national park being rebuffed despite tasteful design.
The South Downs National Park is home to the Shoreham Cement works a large defunct quarry and cement mill. The site is located hundreds of metres from a dual carriage in an area where the local authority is being asked to deliver over a 1,000 new homes a year, largely on greenfield sites.
The National Park’s working group recently announced an 18 month delay due to financial constraints and its new emerging local plan does not intend to designate this fantastic brownfield site for development and instead will zone the majority of the site for rewilding. A failure of vision and a major let down for the community
National Parks are publicly funded and are facing financial head winds like all government departments. This pressure presents a golden opportunity for revenue generation whilst releasing residents from an overburdensome planning regime. National Parks should adopt an attitude of progress in keeping with community needs, working with local authorities that maximise a parks potential for social and economic development.
They should lead the way in planning standards. These permissions should be leading the way on conditions, focusing on keeping existing village character, longevity of materials and energy efficiency. There is an enormous potential locked up in our farmyards, industrial units and villages in our national parks.
Boards for national parks are made up of local councillors and national appointees, often only those who see state control as an imperative apply. Exmoor National Park due to Somerset’s new unitary authority will be losing Conservative board members who represent wards in park to be replaced by Liberal Democrats from outside of the area.
It is vital that Conservatives put themselves forward if they live in National Parks when vacancies are advertised, together we might improve the lives for hundreds of thousands of people who live and work in our national parks by unlocking their potential.
