The chairs and chief executive officers from all 10 English national parks have spent time discussing issues facing the network which is marking 75 years since the designation of the first parks.
The Castle Green Hotel in Kendal played host to the gathering which also marked the contribution of four outgoing chief executives who have collectively have spent more than a century at the helm of their authorities.
Yorkshire Dales National Park chief David Butterworth has driven forward national parks’ work on access for all, working with govt, Active Travel England and others to secure funding across the country.
Tony Gates, of Northumberland National Park Authority, was instrumental in bringing The Sill to life which became the UK’s first National Landscape Discovery Centre when it opened in 2017.
The Farming in Protected Landscapes Scheme (FiPL) was spearheaded by outgoing Dartmoor National Park Authority CEO Kevin Bishop who also led the authority through a series of high-profile legal challenges regarding public access to its famous moors.
Also leaving as CEO in the coming weeks is John Packman of the Broads Authority, the only national park which also holds a navigation and harbour management remit.
John has been at the forefront of expanding the role of the authority in the management of its wetlands, bringing both new areas under its care and securing substantial EU and Lottery funding to improvement habitats in these internationally recognised habitats.
