The North York Moors National Park Authority
The National Park Authority works with a huge variety of people to care for this beautiful corner of Yorkshire.
We try to balance the needs of the National Park, its people, landscape, wildlife and culture, with the needs of visitors who come to enjoy the area.
It’s really important that people understand why the North York Moors is such a special place and what makes it so special, so that it's used and cared for in ways which will maintain it for future generations.
Who works for the Authority?
We have 20 Members, who oversee our work, and 170 members of staff (full-time and part-time).
We also have upto 20 apprentices and trainees at any one time plus a huge team of Voluntary Rangers and volunteers from all walks of life who help us deliver our work and services.
Our Members meet formally at least quarterly and are responsible for making decisions in relation to the functions of the National Park Authority, determining the Authority's policies and ensuring that resources are properly allocated.
How we are funded?
The majority of the Authority’s funding is provided by Central Government; more specifically the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as the National Park Grant. In addition to this, income is earned from a variety of other sources.
There are four main areas of income which help to fund the Authority’s activities.
- Defra core grant to help support our delivery which in 23/24 will be £4.4m.
- External funding both as direct award, for example Farming in Protected Landscapes funding from DEFRA, and through applications to bodies such as the National Lottery. The Authority has a target of spending £2.4m in 23/24 via this funding.
- Earned income is generated from the Authorities assets, such as car parks, retail at the visitor centres and investment returns on cash balances. This is budgeted at £1.9m in 23/24.
- We also receive income from S106 agreements. This is compensation and mitigation payments to help offset the negative impacts of authorised major development within the park. The Woodsmith and Boulby mines will make £3.3m of payments to the Authority in 23/24
You can find out more on our funding on our Finance and spending page.
What does the Authority do?
While our staff implement the policies and decisions of the Members, certain powers and functions are delegated directly to them. You can find out about some of our current work in the Caring for section. We are also the Local Planning Authority for the National Park. The North York Moors Local Plan guides future development in the National Park.
What do we do?
Every 10 years, a Management Plan for the National Park is produced. This set out a long term vision for the place or describes the objectives, policies and goals that the Authority, other public bodies and stakeholders will pursue to achieve it.
How do you get to work for the National Park?
All our job opportunities are advertised on our Careers page. Here you will find out how to apply.
We are really enthusiastic about providing great opportunities for young people to join one of our training programmes. We advertise all of these via our Careers page.
Useful links and information to download:
North York Moors National Park Management Plan
State of the National Park Report 2021 (pdf)
Scheme of Delegation (pdf)
Biodiversity Duty consideration and reporting final - Dec 2023
Tree and woodland strategy 2023 (pdf)
Strategy and Business Plan 2022-2027 (pdf)
A report on progress against the plan objectives over the first year of its preparation was reported to the National Park Authority on 19 June 2023.
A short film showing some of the work of the National Park Authority over the year was shown at the Staff Annual Conference.