Safeguarding a great success of our planning system
If Labour's ambitions are to be achieved, they must take full account of the additional protections for National Parks and National Landscape already in place.
National Parks are home to communities and host visitors who rely on roads to travel to and around the Parks. Despite their status as Protected Landscapes, proposals for damaging new roads and road widening schemes continue to threaten these areas.
Major road development has no place in the heart of our most cherished landscapes and vital homes for nature. That’s why we campaign for investment in current roads to deliver environmental improvements to the existing network, call for investment in public transport and support our partners in campaigning against proposals for inappropriate new or upgraded roads.
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The impact of new road and road widening schemes
There has been significant pressure for new road building in or close to National Parks in recent years. New road and road widening schemes not only cause habitat destruction through major new transport infrastructure, but also increases traffic and congestion, impacts on communities through HGV movements, increases carbon emissions and increases noise pollution.
Threats from major roads
National Highways have been given permission to widen the A66 which will have a negative impact on the Lake District National Park and the North Pennines National Landscape.
Transport Ministers have also green lit the Lower Thames Crossing which threatens ancient woodland within the Kent Downs National Landscape, as well as the M3 junction 9 project near Winchester, which the South Downs National Park Authority has objected to on grounds that it will cause “significant adverse harm”, “contrary to the purposes of the National Park”.