§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to introduce congestion charging in national parks. [103910]
§ Alun MichaelUnder the Transport Act 2000 it is for each local traffic authority to consider whether there is a case for introducing charging schemes in its area. Any such proposals require the approval of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.
§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about the designation order for the South Downs National Park. [103918]
§ Alun MichaelAbout 5,000 representations have been received in regard to the South Downs National Park Designation Order. These relate to the principle of a National Park, the boundary, and administrative6W arrangements. We are currently considering the responses and I expect to make an announcement on the next steps soon.
§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many visitors there were to each of the National Parks in each of the last 10 years. [103919]
§ Alun MichaelStatistics are not collected annually. The last comprehensive visitor survey of the National Parks was undertaken in 1994. The figures are given in the following table. A new survey is to be undertaken in 2004.
National park Visitor days Lake District 13,925,000 Peak District 12,400,000 Yorkshire Dales 8,303,000 North York Moors 7,790,000 Dartmoor 3,825,000 Northumberland 1,408,000 Exmoor 1,397,000