Can public ownership of land help save nature in our National Parks?
With only 6% of land managed effectively for nature in National Parks we need big changes to get nature recovery back on track
Who owns the land in National Parks?
The vast majority of land in most National Parks is privately owned. This ranges from just over half of the New Forest to more than 99% of the Yorkshire Dales, with the figure for most of the Parks being 90% or more. With such a large amount of land in private hands it’s much more difficult to assess how the land is managed, though we know that most land in National Parks in both England and Wales is farmed.
Some National Park Authorities (NPAs) own a small proportion of the land in their National Park (for example, Bannau Brycheiniog owns most at 13%) but many other public organisations, large charities and utilities providers, including Forestry England, the water companies, the Ministry of Defence and the National Trust, own significantly more land in National Parks than the NPAs do.
It is much harder for NPAs to influence what happens on private land in National Parks, meaning there can be limited support for nature recovery and in some cases damaging activities like moorland burning are carried out.
Public and statutory undertakers Land ownership in National Parks from our 2024 Health Check Report
How can we make a difference for nature?
We’re calling for more powers and resources as well as reforms to governance and ownership of National Parks. New duties recently introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 should ensure public bodies manage this land for nature as a priority but we want to see further legislative change to stop all damaging activities, and reforms to support greater public and community ownership of land in National Parks. This should include a requirement that any land over a certain size is first offered for community or public purchase when it is put up for sale and should be supported by a Treasury backed capital fund to support public sector purchase of land in National Parks.