National Parks- do they help farmers?

[puppet]

Scotland only has 2 national parks and there is currently a consultation and initial report on a Galloway National Park. This will stretch from Dumfries to Stranraer and up to south Ayrshire. It is a way of showcasing all the good things here and trying to increase tourism and providing jobs to stop youngsters leaving. It will cost several millions to run each year.
The initial response from the public seems positive with a desire to be more involved with farming. Of course most people offered something will see it as good if it has no detriment to themselves.
What experiences and concerns are there in other areas?
Planning, low-paid jobs, complaints about farming activities, wind turbines, too many visitors are some of the farming concerns

 

[vantage]

Planning, low-paid jobs, complaints about farming activities, wind turbines, too many visitors are some of the farming concerns

Planning will become very restrictive,our farm is outside the park here, but they objected to a wind turbine causing refusal. Low paid jobs,maybe, as any development will be restricted,they prefer everything in aspic. Too many visitors, probably not,complaints about farming activities,unsure.
@7610 super q maybe better placed to comment.

 

[JLLM]

Planning will become very restrictive,our farm is outside the park here, but they objected to a wind turbine causing refusal. Low paid jobs,maybe, as any development will be restricted,they prefer everything in aspic. Too many visitors, probably not,complaints about farming activities,unsure.
@7610 super q maybe better placed to comment.

They objected to mine as well, luckily my local councilor got a site visit arranged which got it sorted, they objected on the grounds that it could be seen from the park.

 

[vantage]

They objected to mine as well, luckily my local councilor got a site visit arranged which got it sorted, they objected on the grounds that it could be seen from the park.

Absolutely the same here. Said park is a mix of open mountain and conifer plantation. Didn’t involve local councillor with mine as planning consultant got a landscape architect,ex parks and council who said it be too intrusive and expensive to pursue. Pity really as the measured wind speed is 7.5 .

 

[rusty]

I farm in the Peak District National Park. I run a 330 cow fairly intensive grass based dairy farm. Wall to wall reseeded ryegrass is probably not what the parks vision of want they want . I would have liked a 50 kw turbine but that was always a non starter with the park planners. Not had any real issues with planners re farm sheds personally in last 20 years but one was a real knob 25 years ago. No permitted development on farm sheds in a national park.
A lot of farms have some tourist diversification especially B and B, caravan or camp sites. There seem to be a quite a lot of camping and caravan sites running with no permission.
Some of the environmental side have lost the plot . Mate of mine bought a block of previously poorly farmed land next to him. When he would not enter into an environmental scheme because the payments were poor against what he could make with his dairy cows the engineered it to be classified SSSI.

 

[Foregoneconclusion]

Definitely not.

Pembrokeshire coast national park..

 

[Bill the Bass]

The Lake District National Park is probably the extreme end. Iirc there are about 18 million over night visitors and 36million day visitors to an area that is about 2200km square. To put that in perspective London gets about 30 million visitors. Bare in mind there is no tube system, no main line rail link and very poor road infrastructure to manage all these visitors. Traveling round the park for business reasons or to farm in the valleys has become nearly impossible. I of ten have to work in the central lakes, it should take about 45 minutes drive, in peak season it can take over three hours and some days (fridays usually) u just don’t bother.

The park is seriously giving to have to consider shutting some areas to traffic or bringing in a congestion charge. From a farming point of view on some farms the biggest cause of sheep mortality is dog worrying.

 

[7610 super q]

Planning will become very restrictive,our farm is outside the park here, but they objected to a wind turbine causing refusal. Low paid jobs,maybe, as any development will be restricted,they prefer everything in aspic. Too many visitors, probably not,complaints about farming activities,unsure.
@7610 super q maybe better placed to comment.

As far as I can see they're only interested in treating the place as an amusement park for tourists. ROW's must be kept open at all costs, even during F & M. Farm buildings & turbines are frowned upon, although turning shacks into holiday homes is OK. They've come out with some weird ideas over the years, like spraying new farm sheds with slurry, to get them to blend in. All in all, a right PIA. Even painting your house turns into a saga, we were told we could either paint it white, or pink, but would prefer you to paint it white. We painted it pink. Yet another layer of bureaucracy we could do without.

 

[Whitepeak]

I'm in the Peak District as well. My biggest gripe is planning for houses is needlessly restrictive. We've looked into building at the farm and the hoops you need to jump through are stupid and you have to build the house to their design basically, even though all the existing houses around it are different. Even trying to renovate a delapated building would be difficult.
We haven't put up any farm buildings for several years so can't comment on that.
Our village is off the tourist trail, but I can imagine some will be hell to get around/farm in during the height of the tourist season.
Over half the planning committee are residents of Sheffield and Manchester, so they don't understand what it's like to try and live and work in the park, they just want to preserve their idealised, picture postcard view of it.
Having said all that, I do love the fact I live and farm in the Peak Park and I wouldn't want to farm anywhere else.

 

[Agrivator]

If A National Park is thrust upon you, you must ensure that local Farmers and other local country folk are well represented on the Committee.

 

[deleted user 837354]

I envy you boys in the Peak District- so much ice cream around... But cripes I bet it can be hard and bleak in winter. Take my hat of to you all for farming up there.

 

[Top Tip.]

I farm in the Cairngorm national park ,the park authorities are basically a block to any form of development. They are really a horrendous waste of money with 60 odd staff who basically produce nothing. If they were all to disappear tomorrow nobody would notice they were gone apart from the fact that house prices would drop.

 

[H200GT]

They are just another red tape quango. Here in Snowdonia we have 4 layers of red tape. We have to obide by all:
1. EU Law
2. Westminster laws
3. Whatever crap they dream of in Cardiff Bay to justify their jobs
4. And then Snowdonia National Park

All layers add their little bit to make life a little more restrictive

 

[puppet]

The Lake District National Park is probably the extreme end. Iirc there are about 18 million over night visitors and 36million day visitors to an area that is about 2200km square.

My calculator says you have 16000 visitors per km2
Dumfries and Galloway has 2.5m over 6000km2 so around 400 per km2.
...and folk here think it is busy because they have to walk 50 yards to a shop and call for more dual carriageways. No parking charges here and one set of lights in 78 miles Dumfries to Stranraer. Don't tell anyone or they will all want to come.

 

[Agrivator]

I envy you boys in the Peak District- so much ice cream around... But cripes I bet it can be hard and bleak in winter. Take my hat of to you all for farming up there.

Don't fret too much. They smear themselves in blubber in preparation for the harsh winter weather. And the girls are stitched into their underwear before the first frosts.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Definitely not.

Pembrokeshire coast national park..

Is that your new shed arrangement I drove past on the way to the doghouse on saturday evening?

 

[Foregoneconclusion]

Is that your new shed arrangement I drove past on the way to the doghouse on saturday evening?

Hi . Quite probably!

 

[SilliamWhale]

Hi . Quite probably!

Looked lovely. Well set up for a future of dairying!

 

[Foregoneconclusion]

Looked lovely. Well set up for a future of dairying!

National park didn't think so! But then they always ignore the economics of planning enforcement!!

 

[Frodo2]

I farm in the Cairngorm national park ,the park authorities are basically a block to any form of development. They are really a horrendous waste of money with 60 odd staff who basically produce nothing. If they were all to disappear tomorrow nobody would notice they were gone apart from the fact that house prices would drop.

The only thing I have noticed different in the cairngorms is the amount of new houses built.