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Last Friday the Peak District National Park Authority debated the Government initiated consultation on whether there should be direct elections to National Park Boards. They came to the conclusion that given the majority of members come from elected bodies there is no need for any change, however they are keen to encourage local debate on these issues.

Although local people are much better represented since the creation of the 6 Parish Council Representatives, still less than half the members of the Peak Park Board live in the Park. Also although over 70% of them do come from some 18 different democratically elected councils (though with parish councils often not enough people stand for elections to be held), they are not elected by their constituents as Peak Park Board Members.

At present we have a complex hierarchy of local government, and would yet more elections just further confuse the web of Parish, District and County Councils and the National Park Authority?

However, can any of the 18 councils represented on the Peak Park Board individually have sufficient influence to make real use of their currently indirect democratic pressure. As one person said, in relation to the Board’s preference for the status quo, “would turkeys vote for Christmas“? What are your views?

The Peak District National Park Board is made up of

8 Secretary of State Appointees

• Narendra Bajaria (Chair) – lives in Sheffield
• Ann Ashe – lives in Sheffield
• Pauline Beswick – lives in Froggatt
• Harry Bowell – lives in Sheffield
• Geoff Nickolds – lives in Nottingham
• Christopher Pennell – lives in Sheffield
• Sue Prince – lives in Ilam
• Leigh Rix – lives near Newark

16 Borough, City, County & District Council Appointees

• Denise Wild – lives in Barnsley – Barnsley Borough Council
• Sylvia Roberts – lives near Macclesfield – Cheshire County Council
• Irene Ratcliffe- lives in Wirkesworth – Derbysire County Council
• Judith Twigg – lives in Bakwell – Derbyshire County Council
• Roger Wilkinson – lives in Old Glossop – Derbyshire County Council
• Barbara Wilson – lives in Buxton – Derbyshire County Council
• Jacque Bevan – lives in Hathersage – Derbyshire Derbyshire Dales Council
• Tracy Critchlow – lives in Tideswell – Derbyshire Dales District Council
• Tony Favell – lives in Edale – High Peak Borough Council
• Andrew Marchington – lives near Huddersfield – Kirklees Borough Council
• Hilda Gaddam – lives in Macclesfield – Macclesfield Borough Council
• Dorothy Ward – lives in North Wingfield – North East Derbyshire County Council
• Colin McLaren – lives near Oldham – Oldham Borough Council
• Trevor Bagshaw – lives in Sheffield – Sheffield City Council
• James Muir – lives in Burton upon Trent – Staffordshire County Council
• Edwin Wain – lives in Waterhouses – Staffordshire Moorlands District Council

6 Parish Council Representatives Appointed by the Secretary of State

• John Herbert – lives in Sheldon
• Christopher Carr – lives in Tissington
• Patricia Coleman – lives in Youlgreave
• Kath Potter – lives in Stanton Lees
• Ron Priestly – lives in Castleton
• Leslie Roberts – lives in Upper Hulme

The Authority’s press release on this follows in full:

PR 536 – 07 October 2008

Consultation on direct elections to national park authorities

Residents are being encouraged to have their say on the best way of selecting people to run national park authorities across the country.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consultation document says the existing system of selecting members to the Peak District National Park Authority and others in the country works well.

But the environment secretary Hillary Benn wants to know if it would be improved if some or all members were directly elected.

Currently the Peak District National Park Authority’s 30 members are selected through three different routes –

• 16 councillors are appointed by county, district, metropolitan or borough councils to represent communities in and around the national park
• Six parish councillors are appointed as members by the environment secretary to represent national park communities
• Eight members are appointed by the environment secretary for their knowledge of national park issues

Following a debate on the issue members of the Peak District National Park Authority intend to tell the Government that the system for selecting members should stay as it is as most members are already elected to parish, district, borough, county or metropolitan councils.

Before discussing the issue the authority contacted other local authorities for their views on the different options. The meeting was told that most councils wanted things to stay as they are. But the authority members are keen for residents and other groups in the Peak District to have their say in the coming weeks.

Narendra Bajaria, chair of the Peak District National Park Authority, said:

It is important that issues like this are raised and discussed to find the best possible way of running national park authorities.

All national park authorities have a difficult balancing act to consider both the needs of local residents and the wider national interests that they are legally set up to protect. To do this it is important to have a good mix of people who are locally elected and some who are selected through interviews to represent local parishes or national interests.

No model for selecting members is perfect but it was felt that the current system allows locally elected councillors to take up the vast majority of seats on the authority.

The DEFRA consultation can be seen by visiting www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/np-directelections/index.htm
Comments need to be made by Friday 28 November.