Time to axe the National Park Authority?

5:20am Sunday 12th October 2008

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By Julian Robinson »

AHUGE rally in the heart of the New Forest, heated calls for an entire organisation to be abolished and a heartfelt defence from the man at the centre of a storm.

It’s just another week in the ongoing saga over plans that are dividing opinion across Hampshire.

At the centre of it all is the underfire New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) which has come out fighting this week to defend its controversial plans.

It has vowed to listen as campaigners turn up the heat over proposals that could hit horse owners and dog walkers and even lead to road pricing on some Forest roads.

And there was even a conciliatory move by the embattled NPA chairman Clive Chatters to allow more time for public consultation – the October 31 cut-off date has been extended to November 14.

But fierce opposition to the draft consultation plan and recreation management strategy will not vanish over-night.

Many are still questioning whether pledges to take all opinions into account are enough to undo the turmoil.

Some have called for the organisation to bin the double document while other powerful voices are calling for National Park status to be abolished altogether.

New Forest East MP Julian Lewis has been one of those leading calls for the NPA to disband.

It’s his belief that what was decided by Government could effectively be undone at the same level.

He said: “I’m making enquiries, now that Parliament has come back, and I’m in the process of finding out exactly what the process would be.

“But as it did not take special legislation to bring it in, I cannot conceive that it would be anything other than a simple matter of getting rid of it under the provisions that it was brought in.”

The MP for New ForestWest, Desmond Swayne, added: “This could be done in minutes.

I suspect all it would take would be an administrative order, signed by a minister and endorsed by Parliament. Some 4,000 of these go through the House every year, so it would not be a time-consuming process.

“The other way might be a bill, but that would be lengthier.”

Looking back, it may seem that the unique way in which the Forest was run beforehand was fitting for such a unique area – and that’s an argument many critics of the current set-up hark back to.

Indeed, the National Park concept sparked fears that existing groups including the Forest’s ancient guardians, the Verderers, who represent the Commoners and the Forestry Commission, would be sidelined.

They still play their part in watching over the Forest today.

However, others claimed their watchful eye was not enough to safeguard the special heath and woodland.

Strong lobbying groups like the Open Spaces Society had long promoted how vital it was to set in stone the need to conserve the area for future generations.

And in the light of the very real threats posed by sprawling urbanisation it’s not hard to see why the formation of a National Park was an attractive option.

It promised to conserve and enhance the unique environment of the New Forest, and in particular the special qualities of its landscape, wildlife and cultural heritage.

And its remit was to encourage everyone to understand and enjoy the park’s special qualities, while ensuring that its character was not harmed. All this and at the same time supporting the social and economic wellbeing of the communities its boundaries encompassed.

The authority’s chairman Clive Chatters has talked of the desperate need for the highest level of protection the nation can possibly give to this internationally important wilderness.

He tells of a future where the pressures of increased housing and industrialisation on the outskirts could see it permanently entrenched in an “urban nut cracker”. And he’s sure of one thing: the NPA will be a fixture for years to come.

He said: “It’s here to stay. The National Park provides the highest level of protection we can give the Forest. And the Forest needs it.

“We are here to stay, the Forest requires that protection if it’s going to cope with the changes over the next few decades.”

Meanwhile environmentalist and TV presenter Chris Packham has urged the placard-waving masses not to lose track of the authority’s ultimate aims.

Speaking at the NPA headquarters near Lymington this week, he said: “It would be nice to hear voices of reason other than voices of wild reaction.

“I think that some of the attitudes and expectations are a little bit misguided. There is a reluctance to embrace any form of change – even if it is under the process of consultation. That does not bode well for this area, which we are all very keen to preserve.

“As the old maxim states, you can’t please all of the people all of the time.What disappoints me is that people appear unwilling to accept changes.”