2012 - year of celebration

This year sees two notable events in Britain, the diamond jubilee of her majesty The Queen, and of course the olympic games, but for us here in this corner of North Yorkshire there is another anniversary and another reason to celebrate, it was 60 years ago in 1952 that the North York Moors national park was created.

The North York Moors became a national park through the "National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949", and as such is guided by the two main principles which guide all national parks in England and Wales:

1. to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area, and
2. to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the park's special qualities by the public.

The national park makes every attempt to strike a fine balance between preserving the natural beauty and cultural heritage with supporting  the two main industries in the park, agriculture and tourism, the park authority supports and encourages small industry, businesses and small scale house building to rent for local people, important in trying to keep villages and communities alive.

Any large scale planning proposal of a commercial or industrial nature which involves operations on a large scale, is automaticly in direct confrontation with the principles of the national park, the whole idea of national parks in England and Wales is to keep major development out.

The question has to be asked - if we allow large scale mineral extraction or any other major industries, then why bother with the national park in the first place, and for those of us who were born and bred into this area, would we like the area to be just like everywhere else, with no protection for our countryside, a free-for-all in planning, building and development.

On the southern edge of the national park close to Thornton le Dale there is another major planning application, this time for the extraction and process of gas from underneath the moors, quite rightly the plan was turned down and therefore the plan is currently the subject of a Public Inquiriy.

If the gas plans are accepted, it would involve building a huge gas processing plant on the outskirts of Thornton le Dale, one of the most popular and picturesque villages around the national park, at what point will tourists and visitors begin to perceive the North York Moors as NOT been an unspoilt area of natural beauty if we simply allow one intrusion after another.