North York Moors National Park
 

Authority Services

Key Facts and Figures

 

General

The North York Moors became a National Park on 28 November 1952 and is one of 15 National Parks in the United Kingdom. Each National Park is administered by its own National Park Authority; independent bodies funded by central government to:

  • conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage; and
  • promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of National Parks by the public.

If there’s a conflict between these two purposes, conservation takes priority. In carrying out these aims, National Park Authorities are also required to seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the National Park.

The National Park Authority has 22 Members who guide its work. Twelve Members are appointed by local authorities and 10 are appointed by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The National Park Authority owns less than 1% of the North York Moors with some 80% in private ownership; owned in the main by private estates and farmers who manage the land to support grouse shooting and sheep farming.

There are 1408 miles (2268km) of Public Rights of Way in the National Park.

Special Qualities

The North York Moors National Park covers an area of 554 square miles (1436 square kilometres) and has 26 miles of coastline. Its highest point is Urra Moor at 454 metres.

It contains the largest expanse of heather moorland in England and Wales covering an area of over 44,000 hectares or around one third of the National Park.

The North York Moors is a European Special Protection Area for merlin and golden plover and is internationally renowned as a haven for ground nesting birds. It is also home to the largest inland Site of Special Scientific Interest in the country and is designated a Special Area of Conservation for moorland vegetation.

Woodland and forests cover about 22% of the National Park and it has one of the largest concentrations of ancient and veteran trees in northern England.

There are over 700 Scheduled Monuments within the North York Moors and around 3000 listed buildings. Almost a third of the Scheduled Monuments for the Yorkshire & Humber region can be found in the National Park. There are 42 designated conservation areas in the North York Moors.

People

23,939 people live within the National Park (2001 Census).

The biggest single employer in the North York Moors is Boulby Potash Mine which employs around 800 people. The main area of employment is tourism though many of these jobs are seasonal.

The National Park has an estimated 6.3million visitors per year who spend just over 9million days in the North York Moors (2007 STEAM Report). 92% of these visitors arrive by private vehicle.