Vision for the future of Northumberland National Park

Jan 31 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

CHALLENGES, threats and opportunities were highlighted yesterday in a study which will guide the North East’s top landscape into the 21st Century.

Northumberland National Park has drawn up its draft management plan which sets out a vision that will be used as a framework for the 400 square mile area for the next 20 years.

The new plan coincides with the 60th anniversary of the first Countryside Act in 1949, which set up national parks and other protected countryside for the benefit of people in the towns of post-war industrial Britain.

The national park authority and its partners are keen to involve the public as the plan is now released for consultation.

For the first time, the market towns of Alnwick, Wooler, Morpeth and Hexham – whose interests are closely linked with the uplands on their doorstep – are being included in the public consultation events over the next 10 weeks.

The draft plan recognises issues such as:

:: The unique and distinctive qualities of the park – especially its tranquillity – in an ever busier world and age of increasing uniformity.

:: The opportunity to make more of the park’s attributes while performing the balancing act of not spoiling what visitors come to enjoy in the first place.

:: The park’s value to the North East and whether this is fully appreciated and rewarded.

:: Widening the appeal of the park to social groups beyond the “typical” visitor identified in surveys.

:: The need to ensure the park’s communities have a sustainable and prosperous future.

Included in the plan are the “gateway” communities of Bellingham, Haltwhistle, Rothbury and Wooler, which are deemed to be important to the park and have significant roles to play in its future.

The park is also working with the concept of “action areas” which are held to have different characters and affiliations.

These are Cheviot and Glendale, Upper Coquetdale, North Tyne and Redesdale and Hadrian’s Wall and the South Tyne.

Overall the park’s strengths are seen to include a stunning and diverse landscape, rich in history, habitats and wildlife.

The park covers 20% of Northumberland and is the least populated local authority area in England.

With more than 1,100km of rights of way and 75% of its land classed as open access, it offers great opportunities for escape and enjoyment of its qualities.

One special attribute is its tranquillity. Northumberland has been judged to be England’s most tranquil county and the park especially so. “Tranquillity, freedom from noise and visual disturbance in an increasingly busy world is a key component of experiencing the park,” says the plan.

“It is an emotional, spiritual quality, and is overwhelmingly what people have said they value.”

But the plan warns that inappropriate and illegal activities, such as off road biking and 4x4s, are becoming a recurring problem and undermine tranquillity.

The park will also “robustly challenge” inappropriate developments on its fringes, like wind farms, or major quarry or waste proposals.

The plan says: “To have an area valued for this outstanding beauty and rich natural and cultural qualities is a great recognition for any region.

“Northumberland National Park is such a prized asset for its communities, the North East and the country as a whole.”

But it questions whether the park itself is recognised or suitably rewarded for what it brings to the region.

It attracts 1.5 million visitors a year, who contribute £94.8m to the regional economy.

The park also provides “eco-services” such as the catchment area for clean rivers, and bog and woodland to lock up carbon dioxide.

But although the park has been rated as one of the top five “brands” in the North East, the potential of the tourism economy has not been fully realised, it is claimed.

“The current tourism offer is limited. The park has the capacity to accommodate increased visitor numbers and provide excellent opportunities for green tourism,” says the plan.

“However, this needs to be carefully planned so as not to erode its special qualities.”

Surveys have shown that 90% of visitors are white British, with 34% in the 44-59 age group.

Visitor traffic is split between 43% to Hadrian’s Wall, 41% to Coquetdale, 25% to the Cheviot Hills and 9% to the North Tyne and Redesdale.

Comments on the draft are welcome from everyone. Dates of public meetings and a copy of the plan are on www.nnpa.org.uk/managementplan from today or in hard copy at libraries around Northumberland and Tyneside from next week.