Partnership Working in Northumberland National Park, England

The Policy and Practice of Protected Area Management: Partnership Working in Northumberland National Park RICHARD AUSTIN Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Rural Economy School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development October 2013 Acknowledgements I would like start off my acknowledgements by thanking my supervisors at the Centre for Rural Economy, Dr. Nicola Thompson and Mr. Guy Garrod, for initially helped me to settle into student life Newcastle University in 2009, and over the following four years, gave me their help and advice, with a great deal of enthusiasm, which was invaluable. They constantly inspired me to learn, whilst always helping me to balance my time and the pressures that come with being a part-time student. As a consequence of this, writing this thesis has never felt like a chore. It was always something I was interested in and enjoyed working on, and that was in no small part because of their joint approach to my supervision. Quite simply, I would not be where I am today without them. During the course of my studying, Dr. Menelaos Gkartzios joined the Centre for Rural Economy and soon after was part of my supervisory team, offering a fresh perspective on the direction of my thesis as it started to take shape. Menelaos helped me to stay focussed, particularly opening-up my understanding of how rural organisations work in partnership. Therefore, I would like to thank Menelaos for his help and support. My thanks also extend to Dr. Elizabeth Stockdale for her advice during my annual progressions at the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and for providing a good project link between her role as a senior lecturer at Newcastle University and as an Authority Member at Northumberland National Park Authority. There were several colleagues at Northumberland National Park Authority that helped me to undertake the Ph.D. by kindly offering sponsorship in the first instance, and then supporting me with professional guidance and moral encouragement after that. I would therefore like to thank Mr. Andrew Miller, Mr. Robert Mayhew, Mr. Steve Gray, Mr. Stuart Evans, and Mr. Tony Gates. The next group of people that I would like to thank are the 23 research participants themselves. Without their interest and time this project would not have been possible. For confidentiality purposes I am unable to name each and every participant, however they all have my sincerest thanks. I also would like to thank Julia Dobson for her help in designing the collage maps and most of the Northumberland maps that have been used in this thesis. For their role as my external examiners, I would like to thank Dr. Elizabeth Oughton and Professor Nigel Curry, who both patiently read and discussed this thesis in its entirety with ii me. I will fondly remember how, during the course of my viva, the complicated world of partnership working was compared to spaghetti and meatballs! My final technical acknowledgements go to Professors Joe Painter and Harriet Bulkeley at Durham University. Over a decade ago, we discussed some initial ideas for a Ph.D. project, which eventually culminated this thesis. Even though those ideas significantly changed and developed during the interim years, it is only right that my thanks also recall their early contributions. My personal acknowledgements start with my mother, Mrs Vivien Lesley Austin. I have yet to meet anyone in my life who supports education more than my Mum. Since I was a child, she always encouraged me to follow my dreams. She is reliable, dependable and supportive, making her the wonderful person that she is. Thank you for believing in me. I would also like to thank my sister, Ms. Sharon Austin, for always asking about my progress and taking an interest in my career as it has unfolded so far. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Dr. Ollie Szyszka, both for helping me to keep my work/life balance in order and in opening the doors to the wonderful student life. I could go on to name all of my individual friends, and my extended family, however that list would be quite comprehensive. Therefore my thanks simply go to everyone else that has offered their advice and support with this thesis over the years. Dr. Richard Austin, October 2013 This thesis is dedicated to a true fan of the great outdoors, Gem, who passed away on 6th September 2010. Her loving friendship will always be remembered. iii Abstract This is a thesis on partnership working in Northumberland National Park, England. This protected area is one of ten national parks in the country, each with its own public sector management body, the national park authority. The national park authorities have two statutory purposes: to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage; and to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities by the public. In pursuing these purposes the authorities have a duty to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the national park. Every national park authority has a statutory five-year management plan that details the strategies upon which the two purposes and duty will be delivered, and all require the resources and co- operation of various partners. Although, rural partnership working is a well-researched area, less attention has been paid to the particular challenges of partnership working in protected areas, such as national parks, which have become important models for sustainable development. This qualitative research was conducted through documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with a sample of 23 stakeholders involved in the management of Northumberland National Park. The researcher drew upon over ten years of experience as a local government employee, including seven years at Northumberland National Park Authority. The case study examined Northumberland National Park, which was found to have a convoluted history that has shaped, and is continuing to shape, the present day approach to its management. The processes behind rural partnership working were understood as a range of interlinking controllable and uncontrollable factors and it was found that even though partnership working was between organisations, there was an unwritten acceptance among actors that success was dependent upon a range personal factors. These findings are important for all IUCN Category V protected areas, which are collectively termed as living, working landscapes, reliant upon working in partnership to achieve their objectives. It was therefore recommended that the respective management bodies could benefit from fully understanding the discrete processes that underpin this form of governance. With regards to the case study area, it was found that after a decade of the Action Areas approach, Northumberland National Park Authority has an emerging level of support from local communities for the delivery of its management plans. It is argued in the thesis that it is an opportune time to reassess what Northumberland National Park and Northumberland National Park Authority would like to achieve from the Action Areas approach. iv Table of Contents Abstract iv List of Figures, Plates and Tables vii List of Workshops and Conferences Attended ix List of Abbreviations xii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Northumberland National Park 1 1.2 The Evolving Management Plans of Northumberland National Park 3 1.3 From Academic, to Practitioner, to Practitioner/Academic 6 1.4 My Interest in Partnership Working 8 1.5 Research Aims 9 1.6 Thesis Structure 10 Chapter 2 A Literature Review of Protected Areas 12 2.1 Introduction 12 2.2 The UK National Parks Movement 14 2.3 Introducing Sustainable Development 22 2.4 Fit for the Future 24 2.5 The IUCN and Category V 33 2.6 International Contested Landscapes 34 2.7 The EuroParc Federation 39 2.8 Conclusion 40 Chapter 3 A Literature Review of Rural Partnership Working 42 3.1 Introduction 42 3.2 A New Form of Governance: Partnership Working 43 3.3 Defining Partnership 46 3.4 Content Analysis: Rural Partnership Working 49 3.5 Governance 51 3.6 Behaviour 64 3.7 A Checklist for Partnership Working? 70 3.8 Conclusion 73 Chapter 4 Methodology 75 4.1 Introduction 75 4.2 Preparing for Qualitative Primary Research 75 v 4.3 Creating Data 90 4.4 Analysing Data 91 4.5 Conclusion 93 Chapter 5 A Case Study of Northumberland National Park 94 5.1 Introduction 94 5.2 1972-2001: Flying the Nest 102 5.3 1991-2001: The Otterburn Public Inquiries 110 5.4 2003-2009: A Secure Future for the Land of Far Horizons 118 5.5 2008-2013: The Northumberland Uplands New LEADER Approach 124 5.6 2005-2009: A New Unitary Authority for Northumberland 132 5.7 2009-2014: Inspiring Landscapes, Thriving Communities 134 5.8 Conclusion 150 Chapter 6 Partnership Working in a Protected Area 152 6.1 Introduction 152 6.2 Understanding Sustainable Development 152 6.3 Responding to the Collage Maps 155 6.4 Governance 162 6.5 Behaviour 180 6.6 The Role and Reputation of the Public Sector 193 6.7 Conclusion 197 Chapter 7 Partnership Policy into Practice 200 7.1 Introduction 200 7.2 Assessing Local Government Performance 200 7.3 The Northumberland National Park Management Plan Partnership 205 7.4 Perspectives of Partnership Working from Non-Key Partners 211 7.5 Partnership Working for Northumberland National Park Authority 215 7.6 Conclusion 222 Chapter 8 Conclusions 225 8.1 Introduction 225 8.2 How has the Protected Area Management of Northumberland National Park 226 Evolved since the 1972 Local Government Act? 8.3 What are the Processes of Rural Partnership

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