Ministers have kickstarted the process of creating a new national park in England, part of efforts to widen access to nature and meet international biodiversity goals.
Officials at Natural England, the regulator, have been tasked by Steve Barclay, the new environment secretary, with identifying a location for what would be the country’s 11th park, joining existing ones including Dartmoor and the Peak District.
Areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) in the Chilterns, Cotswolds and the combined AONBs of Dorset and east Devon are among the places that have been mooted in the past for new parks. A new designation would make good on the 2019 Conservative manifesto promise to deliver new national parks.
The decision about where to site the park could be made relatively
