Liberal Democrat councillors are determined to fight to keep control of the Peak District National Park in local hands after rumours of a takeover by Whitehall mandarins.
Councillor Hazel Gloster is bringing a motion to the next meeting of Oldham Council (14 July 2021) calling for the Peak District National Park Authority to be retained, rather than abolished and absorbed into a new National Landscape Authority. This drastic action was recommended two years ago after the Glover Review, and Councillor Gloster has no doubt this will be a retrograde step.
Councillor Gloster outlined her concerns: “At present, our local National Park is managed locally by an authority board with local representatives, including one Councillor from Oldham Council. If the authority is abolished there will be no accountability to local people and local councils, and the park will be one amongst many managed from Whitehall by faceless bureaucrats with no connection to the area.”
The motion is being backed by new Councillor Mark Kenyon who feels strongly that the authority is worth saving. “The Peak District National Park is an amazing natural resource, right on our doorstep. Especially during lockdown, the Park has been a lifeline to many offering tranquility and a breath of fresh air, particularly to the many people in the borough without a back yard or garden”, added Councillor Kenyon. “In the post-Covid world it’s important that we all get a say on how this area is managed and how it can be improved. Without local management, our needs will be drowned out by priorities set in London.”
The Leader of the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, wrote in May to the Minister responsible for National Parks, Lord Benyon, outlining his objections to the transfer of power, and the motion asks for the support of neighbouring local authorities covered by the Peak District and Oldham’s three local Members of Parliament in this fight to preserve the Park Authority.