Representing Protected Landscapes in significant legal case

Published: 15 November 2024 

Campaign for National Parks seeks permission to intervene in legal test-case threatening all of England’s National Parks and National Landscapes

Campaign for National Parks is, for the first time in over 20 years, seeking permission to intervene in a case being heard by the High Court. The case will set a precedent in how the government and all public bodies deliver and take action to conserve and enhance nature and natural beauty in National Parks and National Landscapes. 

Campaign for National Parks was founded in 1936 and is the only independent charity dedicated to securing the future of National Parks in England and Wales. For over 80 years, it has campaigned to strengthen the protection of National Parks, most recently, securing a groundbreaking new duty that requires all public bodies to “seek to further the purposes” of both National Parks and National Landscapes, known collectively as Protected Landscapes.  

This new duty, which came into force last December, requires all public bodies, including government departments, local government, Ofwat, Forestry England, utilities and water companies, to seek to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes. For National Parks, that’s conserving and enhancing natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage, and promoting opportunities for public enjoyment. For National Landscapes, it is conserving and enhancing natural beauty. 

The case, which relates to a planning decision in the Dedham Vale National Landscape, will set an important precedent for the implementation of the new duty, ensuring it is effective in holding public bodies to account. Through its intervention, Campaign for National Parks aims to provide evidence and insight from its own involvement in how the duty was conceived, formulated and how it is being implemented, to assist the High Court in its consideration.

Notes  

1. Full reference for case in the High Court is R (on the application of the Dedham Vale Society) (Applicant) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Defendant) and Transport UK East Anglia Limited (Interested Party) (AC-2024-LON-002385). The case relates to planning and the construction of a car park in Dedham Vale National Landscape (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), but Campaign for National Parks’ intervention is focused solely on the strengthened duty to ‘seek to further’ the purposes of Protected Landscapes.  
2. The duty on public bodies to seek to further the purposes of National Parks, the Broads and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty is set out in section 245 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, 2023. It applies in England only. 
3. The High Court will now consider whether it grants permission for Campaign for National Parks to intervene. 
4. Campaign for National Parks are working with solicitors Carol Day and Ricardo Gama at law firm Leigh Day, who have instructed Alex Shattock of Landmark Chambers. 
5. More information on Dedham Vale case can be found at Essex car park to be test case for legislation to protect landscapes | Conservation | The Guardian