Express & Star

Midlands set to miss out on new National Park bid

The West Midlands looks set to miss out on the creation of new National Parks as part of a government review.

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The Shropshire Hills

Proposals for two new National Parks, one in the Shropshire Hills and one taking in the Black Country, have not made it into the final recommendations of an independent review headed by author Julian Glover.

Mr Glover instead suggested that Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), such as the Shropshire Hills, should be re-designated National Landscapes, with greater powers and more funding.

His report recommended that the Government looks at granting National Park status to the Chilterns, a range of hills to the north-west of London. Mr Glover also suggested the creation of National Parks in Dorset and the Cotswolds should be considered by ministers.

Sandwell Valley

Professor Kathryn Moore, a landscape architect at Birmingham City University, had suggested a West Midlands National Park, which would have included sites such as Himley Hall on the outskirts of Dudley, Penn Common on the edge of Wolverhampton and Sandwell Valley and Dartmouth Park in West Bromwich.

Mr Glover described plans to link urban areas with the surrounding green belt as an exciting idea which he hoped to see happen. But he said there had been no request for him to make specific proposals in his report.

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Councillor Boddington said he welcomed many of the suggestions in Mr Glover's report, including the proposal to rename Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty as National Landscapes.

Himley Hall

He said as well as being easier to remember, it also recognised that much of the beauty of the Shropshire Hills was derived from man-made activities.

"The shape of the landscape of the Shropshire Hills is defined by geological processes but human activities have changed the surface of that landscape," said Councillor Boddington.

"Clearing of trees, planting of trees, mining, channelling water courses, agriculture and building have all shaped the landscape we see."

But he suggested that the Shropshire Hills could still self-declare itself to be a National Park.

"This has already happened with the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, which in 2015 renamed itself the Broads National Park without taking on some of the more restrictive regulations associated with those national parks designated by Parliament," he said.

Councillor Boddington welcomed Mr Glover's calls for more funding for AONBs, and for their management teams to have stronger roles in planning decisions.