GeoResources - Geography website

'AS'
and
'A2'
Level

NATIONAL PARKS DATA AND FACTS

Here are some general facts about the National Parks plus some specific data about the Lake District National Park. Although each National Park is unique, this data provides an insight into the typical National Park.

Area of each National Park:

Lake District 885 sq. miles. (LARGEST)
Snowdonia 827 sq. miles
Yorkshire Dales 683 sq. miles.
Peak District 555 sq. miles.
North York Moors 554 sq. miles.
Brecon Beacons 519 sq. miles.
Northumberland 405 sq. miles.
Dartmoor 368 sq. miles.
Exmoor 268 sq. miles.
Pembrokeshire 240 sq. miles.
New Forest 224 sq. miles.
Norfolk Broads 117 sq. miles. (SMALLEST)

Land Ownership:

Land Ownership	Brecon Beacons	Dartmoor	Exmoor	Lake District	Northum berland	North York Moors	Peak District	Pembroke shire Coast	Snowdonia	Yorkshire Dales
Private	69.6%	57.3%	79.1%	58.9%	56.4%	79.9%	72.3%	85.7%	69.9%	96.2%
Forestry Commission	8.0%	1.8%	1.8%	5.9%	18.9%	16.6%	0.5%	1.3%	15.8%	0.0%
Ministry of Defence	0.1%	14.0%	0.0%	0.2%	22.6%	0.5%	0.3%	4.0%	0.0%	0.3%
Water Companies	4.0%	3.8%	0.6%	6.9%	1.2%	0.1%	13.0%	0.0%	0.9%	0.3%
National Trust	3.5%	3.7%	10.1%	24.2%	0.7%	1.2%	9.6%	4.2%	8.9%	2.5%
National Park Authority	13.0%	1.4%	4.4%	3.9%	0.2%	0.6%	4.2%	2.3%	1.2%	0.1%

Lake District Data:

Staffing: 122 Established staff, 65 Seasonal staff (full & part time), 350 Voluntary Wardens
Population: 42,239 (0.7% increase 1981-1991)
Employment: Agriculture, forestry & fisheries 10%, Energy, mining & water 5%, Manufacturing 10%, Construction 8%, Retailing, transport & catering 37%, Service industries 30%
Housing: Owner occupier 68%, Rented 32%, Holiday home/2nd home 15%, Households with no car 20%
Agriculture: approximately 730,000 sheep in the Lake District, the National Trust owns 91 Lake District farms, virtually all of the National Park is in the Lake District Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Scheme which compensates farmers for managing their land in ways which benefit the environment
Land use: grass moorland 34%, cultivated land & improved pasture 29%, Forest 12% (approx 50/50 coniferous/deciduous), rough moorland 17%, other 8%
Quarrying: 30 mineral sites with planning permission (only about 10 currently active)
Forestry: a mix of semi-natural broadleaved woodlands to totally coniferous forests, majority owned by Forest Enterprise, 75,000 tonnes of timber produced from Lake District forests each year, an estimated 1 million people visit Forest Enterprise forests each year
Planning: in the 1997/98 financial year, 90% of all planning applications submitted to the Authority were approved
Hydrology: the Lake District supplies 30% of the piped water in the NW Water Region. There are 2 large reservoirs, Haweswater & Thirlmere; water is also extracted from Ullswater & Windermere
Conservation Value: 6 National Nature Reserves (NNR), 100 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) - 16% of the National Park
Recreational Value: 3,595km of rights of way, at least 25% of total area available for public access
Tourism: approximately 10 million single day visits to the Lake District, it is estimated that 1/3 of employed residents are largely dependent upon tourism, 65,510 bed spaces, 90% of visitors travel to and within the National Park by car
Funding: Ł2.8 million central government grant, Ł0.9 million local council, Ł2.0 million raised by Lake District NPA

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