‘Too male, pale and stale’ says national park study

Local Democracy reporter Ellis Butcher looks into the issue

TOO male, pale and stale - that has been one of the biggest criticisms of a radical review into national parks and areas of outstanding national beauty. The 168-page Government report found many special landscape bodies to be ‘deeply unrepresentative’ of England.

It found: “Of the almost 1,000 people on national park and AONBs boards today, the great majority are male, many are of retirement age and a tiny fraction are of black, Asian or minority ethnicities. This is wrong for organisations funded by the nation to serve everyone.”

The review called for governance reforms to ‘better reflect’ modern society.

Prized areas must also do more to attract more diverse visitors and the less well off, it said. Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups viewed such landscapes as ‘very much a white environment,’ the review found.

Among the proposals is that ‘every effort be made to achieve diversity of social background, gender, age, ethnicity and (dis)ability.’

It has also called for national park boards to be cut to between nine and 12 members. The LDNPA has 20 members - 13 men and seven women.

The authority responded: “We recognise that it could always be more diverse but it’s difficult to affect changes under the current system. We are therefore very interested to hear what the Government proposes to do in relation to that recommendation.”

Chief executive Richard Leafe praised the report: “Any of the proposals that the Government decides to adopt will require much more thought and consultation before they become reality,” he said. “That will give us an opportunity to comment on many of the proposals that would change the way we work, for example on the size and composition of our board of members.”

Mike McKinley, the Wasdale-based chairman of the national park, scotched the idea that the LDNPA was ruled by ‘men in their Sixties’.

Mr McKinley said: “You have to bear in mind the national park has no control over how its members are appointed. Five are appointed to us by Cumbria County Council, five are sent to us by the district councils and five come from the parish councils. The other five are appointed by the Secretary of State. While I am a member of that panel, I am only one member of three.”

Peter Allen MBE, the deputy chairman, said great strides had been made to improve gender balance but said the park needed to do more to improve diversity.

Of the need to attract younger members, Mr Allen said it needed to get the views of younger people, but warned that many could not dedicate the large amount of time required to the ‘day to day’ running of the national park.

Westmorland MP Tim Farron, whose constituency covers both the Lakes and Yorkshire Dales, commented: “We need far more young people, women and people from all backgrounds to be members of our two local national parks. The way that you achieve that is by democratising national parks – by letting the public have their say on who gets to make the decisions.”

Anne Hall MBE, a long-standing affordable housing campaigner for Coniston, served on the national park for 12 years. But the Conservative councillor lost her place as SLDC’s representative when a male Liberal Democrat councillor won more votes.

She said: “Gender is not an issue for me. The most important thing for me is an understanding, passion and a knowledge of the national park. People who know about the environment, farming and communities. I am not against members appointed by the Secretary of State as they can bring another view as well.” She said the drive to get young people involved was worthy but she had attended 60 meetings in a single year, receiving just £3,600. “Not everybody would be able to do that,” she said. “My big concern about the Lake District now is that it is becoming a millionaires playground. We are no longer getting retirees who would get actively involved in the community. There are houses within three miles of here selling for £4 million, £3 million and £2 million.”

The review panel was led by writer Julian Glover, a former adviser to David Cameron. It visited many national parks including the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, and many of the 34 areas of outstanding natural beauty.

In his introduction, Mr Glover wrote: “Nothing in what follows is intended as a criticism of the many wonderful people involved in national parks and AONBs.”

But the review added “Our country is changing fast. It is becoming more diverse. More urban. Much busier.”

“The way we protect and improve our landscapes needs to change radically. If their natural beauty is to be in a better condition 70 years from today, even better to look at, far more biodiverse, and alive with people from all backgrounds and parts of the country. They cannot carry on as they do now.”