§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what consultations he has had with(a) the Peak District and (b) the North Yorkshire National Parks about the destruction of dry stone walls; [7100]
(2) what proposals he has to protect dry stone walls in areas of outstanding national beauty or conservation; and if he will make a statement. [7101]
§ Angela EagleDry stone walls are an important landscape feature. The main threats to their conservation stem from damage and neglect. To help address this, the Government provides grant assistance for the restoration of dry stone walls under the Countryside Stewardship and Environmentally Sensitive Areas schemes operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Local authorities and National Parks also have powers to operate local environmental grant schemes which may include assistance for the management of dry stone walls and local planning authorities have planning powers to control the demolition of dry stone walls in conservation areas. There are a number of such schemes operated by the Peak District and North Yorkshire National Parks, and information on these is provided to the Secretary of State every year in the context of his discussions of the National Park Authorities' Corporate Financial Plans.
§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of dry stone walls which have been removed from the upland countryside over the past(a) five and (b) 10 years. [7099]
§ Angela EagleThe latest information on national losses of dry stone walls are derived from a survey of the countryside in 1990(Countryside Survey 1990: Main Report, DOE, London, 1993). The survey estimated that the total length of dry stone walls in the uplands of Great Britain in 1990 was about 103,000 km and that the overall length of dry stone walls had decreased by about 14 per cent. since 1984. However, due to the sample design used in the survey, there were substantial uncertainties attached 496W to these estimates. The Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions is currently planning a repeat of this survey in 1998.