The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a significant contributor to the regional economy. Tourism alone accounts for around £350 million of expenditure each year. Employment is dominated by the agriculture and the accommodation and food sectors.
Our vision for 2040
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Management Plan contains seven objectives that we intend to achieve over the next five to ten years to make progress towards our vision that by 2040 the Yorkshire Dales National Park will be:
Providing an outstanding range of benefits for the nation based on its natural resources, landscape and cultural heritage, which underpin a flourishing local economy
Management Plan objectives
E1 Promote the National Park as a high quality place to live and work, so as to attract new 'low impact' businesses with high quality jobs, and increase the proportion of young adults and people of working age living in the National Park.
E2 Provide access to high quality (>10mbps) broadband across the whole National Park by 2019, and further increase access to superfast broadband.
E3 Maintain and develop strong business networks covering farming, tourism, creative industries and knowledge-based businesses.
E4 Improve the quality, variety and marketing of the tourism 'offer' within the National Park to extend the season and get more visitors to stay overnight so as to increase the value of tourism by 20% in real terms by 2020.
E5 Increase in real-terms the total level of financial support to farmers and landowners through agri-environment and other environmental support schemes to recognise the full range of environmental benefits they provide.
E6 Work to improve the quality and value of farm produce from the National Park and promote local food, including through the '30:30' campaign'.
E7 By 2015, prepare a new Local Plan that sets out how the local planning system will be used positively to seek opportunities for development to help achieve the vision and objectives in this Management Plan.
E8 Support the Settle-Carlisle Railway and the re-opening of other rail lines,including Bolton Abbey to Skipton and reinstatement of the Wensleydale Railway from Redmire to Aysgarth by 2020 and, thereafter, the remainder of the line to link with Garsdale.
E9 Provide a range of apprenticeships with organisations in the National Park, including at least 40 in farming, countryside management and heritage skills by 2019.
