Park politics

2:01pm Friday 4th January 2008

THE George and Dragon is the most English of pub names. It is perhaps not surprising that the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority took a dim view of the Caribbeanstyle umbrellas that appeared outside the 18th century public house at Aysgarth three years ago.

Of course, the name of a pub is not a material planning issue, but the style of the umbrellas definitely is and not even the pub's landlords attempted to convince anyone that they were in keeping with the building's Grade II listed status.

Although the Aysgarth straw umbrellas did attract some adverse publicity for the national park from its usual critics, there was nothing like the condemnation that some planning issues in the national park have provoked when the authority has been deemed to be overbearing and insensitive to local needs and concerns.

We hesitate to tempt fate here but perhaps the national park has, in recent years, begun to forge a better relationship with the park residents, based upon more effective communication of its position and responsibilities.

For example, last summer's row about the display of art in the national park headquarters threatened to become a cause celebre, with the columns of this newspaper filled with condemnatory letters.

But the park responded quickly and comprehensively to the criticism, setting out its position clearly and unequivocally.

While many people still disagreed with the national park, the swift and effective response defused the controversy.

The executive and political leadership of the park authority can take a great deal of credit for this mature approach to the inevitable tensions between a planning authority and local people. But so too can some of the park's formerly trenchant critics.