Dear Prime Minister,

Now is the time to leave a lasting legacy for nature

As nations around the world gather at COP15 to agree a future for life on Earth, you have a great opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for nature at home.

The Government has made bold commitments to net zero, to halt and reverse the decline in the abundance of species and to protect 30% of our land and sea by 2030. National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) are home to a disproportionately high amount of England’s remaining semi-natural and carbon-rich habitats. It is clear that if the Government is to deliver any of its environmental promises by 2030 then these protected landscapes will need to be reformed.

This was recognised in the Government’s January 2022 response to the Glover Review of Protected Landscapes in England. The response also made clear that the current legislation for protected landscapes is too weak and does not reflect that many of our existing landscapes are now badly degraded. Through the response, the Government accepted the case for legal reform to address these problems and acknowledged that supporting protected landscapes to do better for nature would complement their other roles.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is a perfect opportunity to make those reforms. Your colleague Sir Gary Streeter MP has laid amendments1 necessary to make our protected landscapes thrive for people and wildlife.

These amendments are uncontroversial and benefit from cross-party support.

They provide you with an immediate opportunity to send a strong signal of the Government’s intention to match its commitment to 30 by 30 with real action for change. Should the new clauses be accepted by the Government, further new clauses would be required to deliver the same reforms for the Broads Authority, which has parity status to National Park authorities, and to carry forward equivalent changes for AONBs, which were also covered by the Glover Review.

As Prime Minister, and with two National Parks in your constituency, you will understand the significance of these landscapes to our national identity as well as to the natural world. We hope the Government will take the opportunity afforded by the Levelling Up Bill to make good on its commitment to strengthen our protected landscapes and help secure the future of nature.

Yours sincerely,

1. Dr Rose O’Neill, CEO, Campaign for National Parks
2. Dr Richard Benwell, CEO, Wildlife & Countryside Link
3. Beccy Speight, CEO, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
4. Hilary McGrady, Director General, National Trust
5. Craig Bennett, CEO, The Wildlife Trusts
6. Darren Moorcroft, CEO, The Woodland Trust
7. Tom Fyans, Interim CEO, CPRE The Countryside Charity
8. Hugh Knowles and Miriam Turner, Co-Executive Directors, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
9. Pat Venditti, Interim Executive Director, Greenpeace UK
10. Tom Usher, Chief Executive, Dartmoor Preservation Association
11. Dr Bruce McLeod, Chair, Friends of the Dales
12. John Ward, Chair, Friends of the New Forest
13. Tomo Thompson, Chief Executive, Friends of the Peak District (CPRE Peak District & South Yorkshire)
14. Stuart Clayton, Acting CEO, Friends of the Lake District
15. David Green, Friends of the South Downs Society
16. Mohammed Dhalech, Mosaic Outdoors
17. Haroon Mota, Founder, Muslim Hikers and Active Inclusion Network
18. Adrian Leaman, Chair, North York Moors Association
19. Yvonne Witter, Chair, Peak District Mosaic
20. Charles Watson, Chairman, River Action UK
21. Dr Tony Whitbread, Chair, South Downs Network
22. Lisa Wainwright, Chief Executive, Sport and Recreation Alliance
23. Paul Rice, Chair, The Broads Society
24. Neil Redfern, Executive Director, Council for British Archaeology
25. Tompion Platt, Director of Operations & Advocacy, The Ramblers
26. Darren York, CEO, The Conservation Volunteers
27. Rebecca Wrigley, CEO, Rewilding Britain
28. James Blake, CEO, YHA
29. Sarah Mitchell, Chief Executive, Cycling UK
30. Ashley Metcalf, CEO, British Canoeing
31. Paul Davies, Chief Executive, British Mountaineering Council
32. Kate Ashbrook, General Secretary, Open Spaces Society
33. Jill Nelson, CEO, Peoples Trust for Endangered Species
34. Sally Hayns, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
35. Dr Hazel Norman, CEO, British Ecological Society
36. Dr Tony Gent, CEO, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
37. Andy Bool, CEO, The Mammal Society
38. Julie Williams, CEO, Butterfly Conservation
39. Gill Perkins, CEO, Bumblebee Conservation Trust
40. Ian Dunn, CEO, Plantlife
41. Jamie Christon, CEO, Chester Zoo
42. Andy Knott MBE, CEO, League Against Cruel Sports
43. David Bunt, CEO, Institute of Fisheries Management
44. Chris Butler-Stroud, CEO, Whale & Dolphin Conservation
45. Rosalind Forbes-Adam, Founder, Woodmeadow Trust
46. Dr Mark Avery, Co-Director, Wild Justice
47. Dr Stephen Head, Founder Patron, Wildlife Gardening Forum

Replies can be sent to: ChiefExecutive@cnp.org.uk

The amendments can be found on the amendment paper for second day of report stage as:

• NC8: National Parks purposes
• NC9: Duty of certain bodies and persons to have regard to the purposes for which National Parks are designated
• NC10: National Park Management Plans
• NC11: National Park Authorities