Picture yourself in a National Park – do you imagine a sense of freedom, spaciousness and natural beauty? Luckily today we’re all able to explore some of the most beautiful areas of our countryside. But this wasn’t always the case.
Our History
During the early 20th century, following years of industrialisation and the growth of urban settlements, people began to want access to some of Britain’s stunning landscapes. So in 1936 a group of dedicated outdoor enthusiasts got together to ensure that some of the most precious parts of our countryside were preserved for everyone to enjoy.
On 26 May 1936 our first iteration, the Standing Committee on National Parks, held its first meeting at 4 Hobart Place in London. The committee was inspired by a conference, held in Central Hall, Westminster, in 1935. Under the chairmanship of Norman Birkett QC, we passed two resolutions. One was that the government should immediately set up a ‘Central Authority for National Parks’, as recommended by the 1931 Addison Report. The other was that ‘a Standing Committee be appointed and invitations sent to all open-air organisations and similar bodies to contribute for such time as may be necessary towards the secretarial expenses’.
And so the Standing Committee for National Parks (us!) was born, comprising of organisations which included the Councils for the Preservation of Rural England and Wales (CPRE and CPRW), the newly-formed Ramblers’ Association, the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society (now the Open Spaces Society), the Zoological Society, the Fell and Rock Climbing Club, the Friends of the Lake District, the Youth Hostels Association (YHA), the Co-operative Holidays Association, and the Alpine Club. Norman Birkett was the chairman, Sir Herbert Griffin (secretary of CPRE) was the secretary, and John Dower, was drafting secretary.
Our first achievement was to persuade over 80 organisations to send resolutions of support for National Parks to the Minister for Health. It also published a manifesto, National Parks for Great Britain, Brief Statement of Policy, calling for the creation of National Parks and the setting up of two National Parks commissions, one for England and one for Wales.
Following the war, John Dower was commissioned to write a report on National Parks which was published in 1945. Eventually, in 1949, the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act was won, our first major victory. The act created the National Parks commission for England and Wales, and led, between 1951 and 2010, to the confirmation of 13 National Parks.
We became an independent body in 1977 and changed our name to the Council for National Parks, employing Linda Herbst as its first secretary. Later we changed our name to how we are known today – Campaign for National Parks.
For over the last 90 years we’ve been campaigning to strengthen the powers of National Parks, been vigilant in monitoring the Parks against damaging developments and promoted National Parks for the enjoyment of everyone.
Our achievements:
2020’s
2026: Our National Parks Reimagined project launches
2025: More than 200 organisations representing charities, businesses, scientists, farmers, and landscape experts from across the UK signed our successful letter to the Prime Minister urging the Government not to weaken or remove the legal protections for National Parks and National Landscapes.
2025: We played a crucial role in securing a vital victory for National Parks and National Landscapes after we were granted permission from the High Court to intervene in a judicial review, on the grounds that this case will set an important national precedent. Government admitted it had acted illegally when deciding on a development in Dedham Vale National Landscape without applying the statutory duty to seek to further the National Landscape.
2024: We were grateful to be awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to grow our New Perspectives project and connect even more young people with National Parks.
2024: Our flagship Health Check Report set out the first assessment of and recommendations for nature recovery in National Parks in England and Wales.
2024: We picked up the mantle in the quest to establish National Marine Parks in the UK.
2023: Government responding to our long-running campaign for an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act giving National Parks new powers to accelerate nature recovery and improve access.
2022: New Perspectives project supports young storytellers to share their experiences
2022: Welsh Government commits to the first new National Park in 60 years in North East Wales
2010s
2019: The Glover review of England’s designated landscapes is published, taking on board many of Campaign for National Parks arguments to propose a better future of the National Parks in England.
2018: Our flagship reports on improving car-free access to the National Parks and improving nature in the National Parks were published.
2016: After many years of working with groups in National Parks, our fantastic project, Mosaic came to an end. We’re extremely proud that through the projects, over 30,000 people visited a National Park, many for the first time. This work isn’t over though – see how we are continuing to make the Parks Accessible for all.
2016: The Lakes to Dales extensions were official! A proud day for Campaign for National Parks and everyone else involved.
2015: Success for our Stop the Cuts campaign as over £350 million of funding for English National Parks, AONBs and public forests was protected.
2014: We secured an exemption to stop barns being converted into houses without planning permission in National Parks.
2012: After years of campaigning we were extremely pleased that Ofgem agreed a £500 million allowance to be used by National Grid in protected areas to find alternatives for pylons in National Parks.
2010: Finally! After a very long campaign, the South Downs was confirmed as a National Park.
2000s
2009: We celebrated the news that plans to build the controversial A628 Mottram Tintwistle bypass in the Peak District had been withdrawn. We’d been battling against this for over 30 years.
2005: We were over the moon that with the help of our campaigning, the first National Park of the 21st century was designated: The New Forest.
1990s
1999: It felt like our hard work was finally going to pay off – we were all fingers crossed that the South Downs and New Forest would be designated as National Parks after the deputy prime minister said the Countryside Agency should consider these areas for National Park Status.
1995: National Park Authorities became independent authorities – something we had led the parliamentary campaign on for a number of years with our vice presidents, Lord Norrie and Sir Chris Bonington.