National park authorities in England and Wales are seeking more than £1M of transport funding to promote sustainable travel and offset cuts in council bus subsidies.
The call for a new, ring-fenced fund follows a review showing that good work to encourage more sustainable public access is being hampered or reversed by budget cuts. Although the 12 national park authorities have no ‘green transport’ duty or funding, they are – to varying degrees – encouraging car-free tourism. This mainly involves financial and/or marketing support for bus services, as well as promotion of walking and cycling.
Most spend between £12,000 and £87,000 a year, excluding staff costs, although North York Moors has a £300,000 sustainable transport budget, the Council for National Parks’ report shows. With NPA finances under pressure, these modest budgets are now being trimmed, or cut severely. Exmoor has stopped its £9,000 bus subsidy altogether, while continuing to spend £3,000 on promotion in 2006/07. Yorkshire Dales’ £20,000 budget for the Dales Bus and rail links has shrunk to £5,000, and will fall to zero next year. At the same time, bus service gains of recent years are under threat following the end of the ~Countryside Agency~'s rural transport partnership funding and Department for Transport’s rural bus challenge. Above-inflation rises in rural bus running costs and cross-boundary issues are exacerbating the problem.
‘Local authority rural transport budget cuts are having severe effects on already-meagre resources,’ the CNP found. It cites cuts by North Yorkshire and Northumberland county councils, and train operator First Western, and earlier research by Atkins confirming that ‘neither rural nor recreational transport is generally accorded high importance by local authorities’. The council wants Natural England and the ~Countryside Council for Wales~ to champion sustainable leisure transport and promote best practice.
‘Park authorities must be encouraged to continue to develop and promote car-free tourism as a priority,’ said Rachel Reeves, CNP senior policy officer. ‘A new, ring-fenced fund would enable NPAs to build on and spread best practice. It would address social exclusion, promote a healthier lifestyle and reduce climate change.’ Later this month, a detailed bid will be presented to the transport and environment departments, and the Welsh Assembly, seeking a £111,000 budget for each authority – a figure based on an initial estimate for the DfT of £1M for the nine English NPAs. Meanwhile, NPAs should forge links with highway authorities and other strategic partners to influence local transport plans and seek external funding.
Tackling traffic. Sustainable leisure transport in National Parks : www.cnp.org.uk
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