Management Plan - North York Moors National Park

Understanding and Enjoymentthat the National Park could accommodate a growth in visitor daysbut this will depend upon the nature of activities undertaken, thetiming of the visit and the places visited.Based upon current levels of activity in the National Park, itis considered that, were the levels of growth set out aboveexperienced, each year around 800,000 additional long walksand 510,000 additional short walks may be taken, there would bearound 570,000 further visits to the beach and around 590,000more visits to a country pub. Smaller increases would also be seenin relation to cycling, visiting tourist attractions and people goingshopping.Given the potential benefits of a growth in visitors to the wellbeing of the public and to the local economy, it is proposed thatthe Authority should support and encourage growth, but only inso far as it does not negatively impact on the communities andspecial qualities of the area.It is considered that an additional 1.6 million visitor days and 1million visitors by 2015 can be absorbed by the National Parkwithout detrimental effect. These increases would need to becarefully promoted and managed with the aim that visitorsarrive at the right times, in the right places and in the right wayto minimise impact and maximise benefit. This principle of‘wise growth’ balances growth aspirations with the principlesof sustainability in tourism. Any further growth aspirations forthe latter years of the Management Plan period will need to beconsidered prior to 2015 in line with the circumstances at the time.3.2 Enjoying the ParkThe varied landscapes of the North York Moors offer a greatdiversity of opportunities for recreation and access. People enjoythe National Park for a variety of recreational pursuits includingwalking, cycling, horseriding, a day at the seaside, enjoying thescenery, eating out, sports, visiting cultural and natural heritagesites, visiting museums and visitor centres and participating ina wide range of other outdoor activities from pony trekkingand mountain bike riding to sailing, shooting and fishing. Manypeople also enjoy the National Park through volunteering for awide range of activities including repairing paths and dry stonewalling. In addition, a wide range of events is held in the NationalPark each year which draws in many visitors, such as eventson the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and Robin Hood’s BayVictorian Weekend.Recreation Activities most commonlyundertaken on a visit to the North York Moors 42Longer walk (more than 1 hour) 50%Visiting a country pub 37%Visiting the beach 36%Short walk (less than 1 hour) 32%Car touring 22%Visitor attraction 11%Cycling 6%Special event 6%The North York Moors are relatively well-resourced in terms ofmost types of access and recreation provision, with a 2,300kmnetwork of public rights of way and around 65,000 hectares ofopen access land (45% of the National Park’s area) as well asa number of long distance trails and cycle routes. The NationalPark also contains a wide variety of recreational facilitiesappealing to a broad range of interests, such as the ForestryCommission’s Dalby Forest, Yorkshire Gliding Club, historic sitessuch as Rievaulx Abbey and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.In addition to facilities, events celebrating the cultural heritage ofthe Park are another way to enjoy its special qualities.The rights of way network is perhaps the most importantphysical resource for enabling the public to directly enjoy thespecial qualities of the National Park. Agreements between theNational Park Authority and North Yorkshire County Counciland Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council delegate to theNational Park Authority the statutory powers and duties relatingto management of public rights of way.The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 introduced theright of access on foot to open country which now coversalmost half of the National Park. The National Park Authority isthe ‘Access Authority’ for the purposes of the Act. In 2009 theMarine and Coastal Access Act introduced the legal frameworkfor a right of public access around the coast. Natural England,with the input of the National Park Authority, is developingproposals for access around the coastline but it is not clear whenthis will be introduced in the North York Moors.The area is also well used for organised recreational events.Every year there are hundreds of these across the NationalPark, ranging from major events such as the Mountain BikeWorld Cup and motor rallies through to small scale orienteeringexercises, cycling enduros, and charity walks and rides.42 North York Moors Casual User Survey, 2011 (Qa Research)64 www.northyorkmoors.org.uk