A new wave of national parks could be created after the environment secretary, Michael Gove, announced plans for a review of protected areas.



The review, which will also consider areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs), will look at how they can bolster wildlife, improve visitor access and support people who live and work there.

Gove said the UK’s growing population and a decline in certain habitats meant it was time to re-examine the system in England.

Officials stressed that existing protections would not be weakened and indicated the review would consider whether there was scope for the network of 34 AONBs and 10 national parks to expand.

But the Campaign for National Parks said the challenge for the review was not only to create new parks but also to tackle problems such as a lack of funding, loss of natural diversity, unaffordable housing, poor access and the uncertainty about UK agriculture post-Brexit.

Andrew Hall, a spokesman, said: “We’ve already highlighted the problems of accessibility and the lack of public transport in many parks, risking confining them to people who can afford to drive there, which creates its own problems of traffic congestion in what should be beautiful tranquil places.”

The charity is about to launch a campaign on increasing the abundance and diversity of wildlife, Hall said. “These should be the most wonderful and special places we have to offer, the absolute jewels in the crown, but depressingly the evidence is that in many places diversity is no better than outside them.”

Several sites including the Chilterns, the Cotswolds and the Dorset landscape made famous by Thomas Hardy have been suggested to join the list of national parks and AONBs.

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In Dorset and east Devon, a campaign group has been carrying out detailed studies for the past five years in an effort to convince local and national authorities that the Jurassic coast, which is already a world heritage site, and what remains of Hardy’s Egdon Heath should become a national park. This, it claims, would bring a wide range of economic and social benefits to the region.

Cheryl Gillan, the Tory MP for Chesham and Amersham, believes the Chilterns should be next to gain national park status, a move that received the backing of 89% in a poll Gillan’s reasoning is “creeping house development” and the pressure of official targets for new housing.

In the Cotswolds, which like the Chilterns is already protected by AONB status, the local MP, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said there was “a clear case” for creating a new national park there.

There have been several proposals for a new national park for the Midlands region, which Hall, originally from Birmingham where his nearest national park was the Brecon Beacons in Wales, said he was personally very sympathetic towards.

Gove said the review was timely: “The creation of national parks almost 70 years ago changed the way we view our precious landscapes, helping us all access and enjoy our natural world. Amid a growing population, changes in technology and a decline in certain habitats, the time is right for us to look afresh at these landscapes.”

The review will be led by the journalist and former Downing Street aide Julian Glover, who said: “Our protected landscapes are England’s finest gems and we owe a huge debt to past generations who had the wisdom to preserve them. The system they created has been a strength, but it faces challenges too. It is an honour to be asked to find ways to secure them for the future.”