Elected park authority members debated

9:10am Friday 18th July 2008

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NATIONAL park authority members could be forced in future to stand for re-election.

Public consultation on the future make-up of national parks is to begin later this month and the possibility of holding direct elections to governing boards is one of the key issues expected to be hotly debated.

Currently the national parks are run by appointed individuals and even though many of those appointees are democratically elected to other authorities, many believe the organisations would garner more trust and respect if a proportion of members were elected directly.

This is the case in Scotland, where 20 per cent of national park bodies are elected by people living in the parks.

Jonathan Shaw, a minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), said: “The consultation is being drafted and will include a series of broad questions I want to ask at this initial stage of considering change.

“I am not afraid of bringing about change and I am relaxed about having this discussion.

“The national parks are not something that can stand still as an entity or institutionally.”

Mr Shaw said he wanted consultation to begin before the parliamentary recess at the end of this month.