Campaign for National Parks celebrates 75 years

Seventy-five years ago today, on 14 July 1936, a group of pioneering campaigners joined together to form the Standing Committee on National Parks which, 75 years later, is now the Campaign for National Parks.

The Campaign for National Parks celebrates its 75th anniversary with a Radio 4 appeal recorded by TV presenter and explorer, Ben Fogle, to be broadcast on 17 and 21 July.

Ben Fogle says: “As President of the Campaign for National Parks I am delighted to be making the BBC Radio 4 Charity Appeal in the week of our anniversary. Overall an audience of 1.9 million people will hear about us and the great work that we are doing to protect the National Parks of England and Wales. National Parks are our green treasures and it is vital that they remain so. We hope that the public are able to dig deep and give generously to such a fantastic cause.”

The aim of the early National Parks campaigners was simple – to make sure that Britain’s most special landscapes were protected and available for everyone to enjoy. They believed firmly that Britain’s most iconic landscapes should not be the preserve of the land-owning classes but that they should be, in the words of John Dower who wrote the 1945 White Paper:

“… for people of every class and kind, from every part of the country.”

The efforts of the early campaigners eventually led to Clement Attlee's government passing the 1949 National Parks and Access to Countryside Act described at time by then MP Hugh Dalton as "one of the most exciting measures introduced for years.” It was a gift from the post-war government to the nation – a natural inheritance for the people of Britain.

Vice President of the Campaign for National Parks, Lord Judd said: “Countryside has been central to me - all my life I’ve loved the countryside. I must have been still shuffling and not yet walking when my family had me camping on Dartmoor in 1936. I have been a passionate supporter of National Parks ever since. We must resolutely fight to preserve and enhance their invaluable role and re-kindle the flame that inspired the early pioneers.”

However, National Parks legislation does not mean that our National Parks are safe. Our natural inheritance needs to be protected and safeguarded so that future generations can enjoy these landscapes too.

Today, one of the biggest threats to National Parks is that people take them for granted. But National Parks are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change, large-scale energy developments, pressure for commercial growth and proposals to increase housing, which can all threaten their natural habitats, wildlife and cultural heritage.

Helen Jackson, chief executive of the Campaign for National Parks said: “We are proud of our 75 year history of campaigning to protect National Parks and have exciting new plans and strategies for how we take this work forward.”

Helen continues: “Campaigning will remain at the heart of what we do as we demonstrate the important role of National Parks in conserving wildlife, promoting healthier lifestyles and building sustainable communities. But we also want everyone, from all backgrounds, to enjoy National Parks and understand how they are relevant to the 21st century, so that we can instil in people a greater responsibility to look after these landscapes for years to come.

“75 years on we are looking to the future and want to secure the next generation of National Park pioneers and campaigners.”

The BBC Radio 4 appeal for the Campaign for National Parks will be broadcast on Sunday 17 July at 7.55am and 9.26pm and again on Thursday 21 July at 3.27pm.

For further information please contact Natasha Roe, communications consultant for Campaign for National Parks, on 07528 663141 or natasha.roe@redpencil.co

Notes to editors

The Campaign for National Parks is an independent charity that inspires everyone to enjoy and look after National Parks. It does this by protecting these iconic landscapes against threats and making sure they are open to everyone to enjoy – regardless of background. The Campaign for National Parks is 75 years old on 14 July 2011.

The Campaign for National Park’s 75th anniversary theme is ‘Getting into Parks’ building on the work the organisation’s award-winning Mosaic project that engages new audiences with National Parks. See www.mosaicnationalparks.org.uk

Richard Benyon MP, government minister for natural environment and fisheries said at a parliamentary reception on 23 March 2011: “The Campaign for National Parks is a hugely professional campaigner, highly respected by officials and other tiers of government and the most professional campaigning organisation I have ever come across.”

The Campaign for National Parks has a new three-year strategy for 2011 to 2014 with the following three strategic objectives:
- Help people to understand why National Parks matter.
- To lead debate, take action and encourage more people and organisations to challenge threats to National Parks.
- Inspire more people to get involved with and enjoy National Parks.

Campaign for National Parks timeline

• 1930s Campaigners lobby the government for measures to protect the countryside
• 1936 Standing Committee on National Parks set up (becomes the Council for National Parks in 1977, and the Campaign for National Parks in 2008)
• 1949 Government Act passed to establish National Parks
• 1951 First National Park, the Peak District, created with seven more following during the 1950s
• 1995 Environment Act strengthens the purposes of National Parks and establishes independent authorities to run them
• 2005 The New Forest becomes first National Park of the 21st century
• 2009 The South Downs is confirmed as a National Park