Opposition to the creation of national parks: the case of the Yorkshire Dales

The ten first-generation national parks created under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949 generally disappointed those who had advocated national parks in the 1930s and 1940s. Their governance was much less strong than had been envisaged, their administration mostly being no more than the planning committees of the county councils within whose boundaries they lay. Here we explore the establishment of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, designated in 1952 and confirmed in 1954. The idea of a Dales National Park had been canvassed since the early 1930s. We find little public opposition to the designation of the park but little public support for it either. Farmers expressed fears of the damage which an influx of walkers would cause, but it is hard to ascertain whether their fears were well founded. Opposition came mainly from the North Riding County Council. The West Riding County Council seems to have been more accepting of the park, but was reluctant to be yoked to the North Riding in a Joint Board as the act envisaged, so both councils could readily agree that they wanted a weaker Joint Advisory Committee. It was this unsatisfactory arrangement that was finally implemented in 1956.