England's best landscapes provide more than just scenery

England’s top landscapes contribute as much to the economy as the city of Birmingham, a report has revealed.

National parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty are worth more than £20bn a year to the nation.

These important stretches of countryside, covering a quarter of England, are described as a hidden economic powerhouse.

The report, So much more than a view…, says that, as well as being most beautiful and cherished landscapes, with important archaeological and historical sites and valuable wildlife habitats, they also provide employment for thousands of people.

More than 260 million people visit the areas and spend more than £6bn with 85,000 businesses when they do. More than two-thirds of people in England live within half-an-hour’s travel of a national park or area of outstanding natural beauty.

Chair of National Parks England and the North York Moors National Park Authority Jim Bailey said: “People are passionate about national parks and AONBs and care deeply about their future.

“Those who visit, live or work within, these special landscapes, experience and enjoy the range of benefits that they provide for people and wildlife. They may not realise that these dynamic, living landscapes underpin the economy and the health and wellbeing of society and that all these benefits come at less than £1 per person a year.”

The chair of the National Association for AONBs Philip Hygate said: “AONB partnerships and conservation boards, and national park authorities, with their dedicated small teams, make things happen, translating vision and national policy into local action.

“Our staff and volunteers work with local communities, businesses and others, supporting skills development, investing in infrastructure and attracting visitors to promote sustainable rural economies that conserve and enhance the natural environment for the benefit of everyone.

Together our volunteers put in over half a million days’ work each year to help keep these places special and accessible.”

England has nine national parks and 46 areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Environment minister Rory Stewart said: “Our British landscapes are among the most beautiful and precious in the world. And such land remains central to the British imagination, to our souls and to our identity.

“We would miss such landscapes profoundly if they were gone. We have a deep obligation to protect this land, its farms and its communities.

“This report also reminds us that safeguarding our countryside can also generate economic value, how our protected landscapes are increasingly rare in a rapidly developing world and just how precious they are to visitors and residents.

“However, while we celebrate the fact that they have also to potential to bring prosperity, we must never reduce such places simply to their economic value – they are so much more than that.”

The report, compiled by England’s national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, can be downloaded from the Landscapes for Life website.