National Parks
It is to be hoped that the Government will waste no further time before translating the recommendations of the Hobhouse Report on National Parks (Cmd. 7121) into action. For too long already, during a period when the country was mostly much better equipped than now to initiate legislation and authorise the necessary expenditure, the matter has been the subject of public debate, while the areas in question have suffered from a steady diminishing of irreplaceable assets. Twelve areas are at present ear-marked for classification as parks, and it is recommended that a further fifty-two areas be con- served under a much looser system of control. A great deal of the Report is concerned with technical questions of administration and organisation, and the thoroughness of these recommendations com- mands respect. If the Report comes—through no fault of its sponsors—too late, it can quite certainly not be criticised on the ground of being too little. On the other hand the most vital question of all has not been squarely faced. Easily the greatest danger which threatens the success of the scheme lies in various Government Departments who have in the past demonstrated to everyone's dis- satisfaction their ability to override regulations framed for the public good. The Service Departments' use of training areas is an obvious instance. The committee clearly recognise this danger, and yet they shy away from drawing the obvious conclusion. Legislation must be passed at once designed to safeguard the proposed parks from any further departmental interference.
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