Nature fight ‘needs more national park land held in public hands’

Dr Rose O’Neill, the CNP’s chief executive, told the BBC that national parks “absolutely need more powers and resources as well as reform of governance and ownership”.

She called for the government to create a new People’s Charter for the parks that would include “a requirement that any land over a certain size is first offered for community or public purchase when put up for sale, supported by a Treasury-backed capital fund to support public sector purchase of land in national parks.”

Meanwhile, new national parks are to be created in Galloway, Scotland, external, and in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley area, external in Wales.

Plans for a new national park for England were also announced by the previous UK government, while new regulations and powers for national parks are currently being reviewed.

A UK government spokesperson acknowledged that Britain is “one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world” and that its national parks “are in decline”.

“That is why we have wasted no time in announcing a rapid review to deliver our legally-binding environment targets to better protect our natural environment,” he said.

“We will also create more nature-rich habitats and help our national parks become wilder, greener, and more accessible to all as we deliver our commitment to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030.”