IT has taken more than six years but the expansion of the Yorkshire Dales National Park has finally been rubber-stamped by the Government.

Confirmation that the park would extend by 24 per cent from August next year was made by Environment Secretary Liz Truss on a visit to the Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes.

The Lake District National Park will also expand by three per cent. The announcement means that an extra 188 square miles of countryside will be given the highest level of protection.

There is no-doubt the countryside now included within the boundaries of the two parks is worthy of designation - the landscapes are just as magnificent as those already given protection to the east and west, and the decision has been welcomed by many.

The chairman of Natural England, for example, is delighted, claiming the move will boost the Yorkshire Dales brand and increase tourism opportunities.

Peter Charlesworth, chairman of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA), was also pleased, saying the outcome came after so many people from the local communities fought hard for national park status.

But others have questioned whether local communities are actually going to benefit from the status.

Upper Dales councillor John Blackie, said the scheme was "a trophy project during an era of austerity" and that many residents would be left dismayed, while the Country Landowners' Association said the decision had ignored the viewers of their members.

While it is hoped the expansion will strengthen the Yorkshire Dales brand nationally and internationally it is likely to do little to improve the park authority's image among the small towns and villages currently within its boundaries.

Decades of planning disputes have meant YDNPA critics are not hard to find and the concerns that unless the expansion is accompanied by greater funding and the election rather than the appointment of members.