In January 2024, the previous Government announced that future Management Plans and their reporting processes would be required to incorporate 10 standard targets and indicators around environmental improvements and access. Collectively, they are known as the Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework (PLTOF).
The next version of the Management Plan will include these ten targets.
Locally apportioned targets
In the interim, three targets have been 'locally apportioned' with specific targets set for each National Park and National Landscape. They cover wildlife rich landscapes (Target 1), peat restoration (Target 7) and increasing tree cover (Target 8). Progress towards these targets will be delivered through the implementation of the current North York Moors National Park Management Plan.
All data is supplied by or via Natural England.
Target 1 - Restore or create more than 250,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats within Protected Landscapes, outside protected sites by 2042 (from a 2022 baseline).
Indicator: Extent of wildlife rich habitat created or restored within Protected Landscapes, outside of protected sites.
Related Management Plan Objectives
Objective 6 - Create bigger, better and more joined-up habitats, with nature-rich wildlife corridors extending beyond the National Park boundaries.
Objective 7 – Support low-intervention management on at least 2,000 hectares of high-quality habitat to restore a wilder and more naturally functioning ecosystem through two landscape recovery schemes from 2023.
NYMNP target and progress
11,916 hectares by 2042. This figure was estimated by the NYMNPA’s ecology team.
National Indicator 1 data from Natural England shows that from January 2023 to March 2025, 79.7 ha of wildlife rich habitat was created or restored outside protected sites in the National Park.
Complete data for all activities that count towards this target is not yet available, therefore the data is probably an underestimate at present.
Target 7 - Restore approximately 130,000 hectares of peat in Protected Landscapes by 2050.
Indicator: Extent of peat under restoration in Protected Landscapes
Related Management Plan Objective
Objective 3 - Capture and store carbon by ensuring all degraded blanket bogs and peat habitats in the National Park are under active restoration by 2032.
NYMNP progress
Target: 5,683 hectares in active restoration by 2050. This figure is based on the adopted Management Plan Objective 3 - Capture and store carbon by ensuring all degraded blanket bogs and peat habitats in the National Park are under active restoration by 2032
At May 2024 1,800 hectares of deep peatland is committed for restoration in the National Park.
Target 8 - Increase tree canopy and woodland cover (combined) by 3% of total land area in Protected Landscapes by 2050 (from 2022 baseline).
Indicator: Extent of tree canopy and woodland cover in Protected Landscapes.
Related Management Plan Objective
Objective 2 – Capture and store carbon through creating at least 2,500 hectares of additional wooded habitat by 2032
NYMNP target and progress
Target: 4,323 hectares by 2050 (woodland creation). This figure is based on the adopted Management Plan Objective - 2 - Capture and store carbon by creating at least 2,500 hectares of additional wooded habitat by 2032.
From 2022-2023, the total woodland area in the National Park increased by 8.3 hectares and in 2022 the total canopy cover (including trees outside woodland) was 24.6% (Source: Natural England).
Other national PLTOF targets
Along with the three targets above, the following remaining targets and indicators will be included in the next version of the Management Plan reporting framework. There is, however, already a high degree of overlap between current Management Plan objectives and PLTOF outcomes.
Target 2 - Bring 80% of SSSIs within Protected Landscapes into favourable condition by 2042.
Indicator: Percentage of SSSIs within Protected Landscapes in favourable condition
Related Management Plan Objectives
Objective 6 - Create bigger, better and more joined-up habitats, with nature-rich wildlife corridors extending beyond the National Park boundaries
NYMNP progress
At March 2025, 42% features are in favourable condition in the North York Moors National Park.
Target 3 - For 60% of SSSIs within Protected Landscapes assessed as having ‘actions on track’ to achieve favourable condition by 31 January 2028.
Indicator: Percentage of SSSIs within Protected Landscapes assessed as having ‘actions on track’ to achieve favourable condition
Related Management Plan Objectives
Objective 6 - Create bigger, better and more joined-up habitats, with nature-rich wildlife corridors extending beyond the National Park boundaries
NYMNP progress
At March 2025, 20% features with actions on track in the North York Moors National Park.
Target 4 - Continuing favourable management of all existing priority habitat already in favourable condition outside of SSSIs (from a 2022 baseline) and increasing to include all newly restored or created habitat through agri-environment schemes by 2042.
Indicators:
Extent of priority habitat within Protected Landscapes, outside of protected sites, in favourable management through agri-environment schemes
Percentage of land managers adopting nature-friendly farming on a percentage of their land
Related Management Plan Objectives
Objective 6 - Create bigger, better and more joined-up habitats, with nature-rich wildlife corridors extending beyond the National Park boundaries
NYMNP progress
Data will be available from Natural England in Spring 2026.
Target 5 - Ensuring at least 65% to 80% of land managers adopt nature friendly farming on at least 10% to 15% of their land by 2030.
Indicator: Percentage of land managers adopting nature-friendly farming on a percentage of their land.
Related Management Plan Objectives
Objective 19 - Maintain a strong and viable farming and landscape community that delivers more for climate, nature, people and place
NYMNP progress
Data will be available from Natural England in Spring 2026.
Target 6 - Reduce net greenhouse gas emissions in Protected Landscapes to net zero by 2050 relative to 1990 levels.
Indicator: The level of greenhouse gas emissions within Protected Landscapes
Related Management Plan Objectives
Objective 1 - The National Park should play a significant part in achieving the regional ambition of being a carbon negative economy by 2040
NYMNP progress
Emissions data is currently only available for Protected Landscapes from 2005 to 2023. However we have used this trend data to estimate the levels in 1990. (Source: Department for Energy and Net Zero). Based on the 1990 estimate, the National Park could potentially become carbon negative in 2036. Figures are production (and not consumption) based.
Target 9 - Improve and promote accessibility to and engagement with Protected Landscapes for all using existing metrics in our Access for All programme.
Related Management Plan Objective
Objective 13 – Increase awareness of, and access to, the National Park among underserved communities.
NYMNP progress
Target is being reviewed due to lack of evidence base and monitoring burden. Nature England to supply a qualitative analysis via the Access for All evaluation report later this year.
Target 10 - Decrease the number of nationally designated heritage assets at risk in Protected Landscapes.
Indicators: Number and percentage of nationally designated heritage assets in Protected Landscapes to be deemed at risk. To separately cover the categories of:
Scheduled monuments
Registered parks and gardens
Registered battlefields
Listed buildings (grade I or II*)
Protected wreck sites
Related Management Plan Objective
Objective 11 - Ensure that our historic environment better understood, conserved, explained and under appropriate management, and work with partners to reduce the number of Designated Heritage Assets at Risk by 2027.
NYMNP progress
No buildings have been removed from the Heritage at Risk register (which includes Grade I/II*), scheduled monuments and places of worship at risk) in the North York Moors National Park.
The Authority separately records changes to buildings at risk (Grade II) in the Annual Monitoring Statement.