Countryside expert enjoys visit to Shropshire
The leader of a campaign to improve and expand England's national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) visited the Shropshire Hills.
Writer and journalist Julian Glover has been reviewing the current network of 34 AONBs and 10 national parks, and last year released a review of how they can continue to benefit society in the 21st century.
It comes as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of England's first national parks.
As part of his two-day visit, Mr Glover attended several meetings across Shropshire including in Craven Arms, River Clun-Beambridge, Cwm Bydd Farm, Clunton, Norbury Village Hall, Long Mynd, Church Stretton, Ape Dale and Wenlock Edge. He ended his visit in the Ironbridge Gorge.
In Ironbridge, Mr Glover met Sir Neil Cossons from the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, Councillor Nicola Lowery, ward member for the Ironbridge Gorge and Councillor Rae Evans and Mark Latham from Telford & Wrekin Council.
Councillor Lowery said: “Julian’s visit to Shropshire was extremely valuable as it provided an opportunity to find out more about the scope of the Glover review and for our communities across Shropshire to talk to him about the value and importance of the AONB in Shropshire.
Relationship
"I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Phil Holden and the team at Shropshire Hills AONB for arranging this visit and for all the work they have put into the Glover review.
"Julian’s visit to Ironbridge enabled us to talk to him about the Wrekin area of AONB, its important links with Telford and Ironbridge, its relationship with the World Heritage Site and Conservation area in Ironbridge and how we can continue to strengthen these links for the future."
Currently, 93 per cent of all visits to National Parks are made by car, yet less than half of all households in England have access to one.
Poor public transport links makes access to protected landscapes near impossible for many people.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) recommended building this access into school curriculums in order to increase the diversity of visitors and give more people opportunities to enjoy them.
CPRE is calling for schools without easy access to National Parks and AONBs to be prioritised for transport initiatives. It also suggests that organisations should be supported to champion outreach to communities who have limited access to these places.
