Review of National
Park Authorities Governance Arrangements
“WE WANT OUR VOTE”
The message from New Forest residents
was loud and clear at the public consultation meeting in Brockenhurst on 30
November 2010. Not an unreasonable
request; considering people living outside of national parks up and down the
country have a fundamental right to vote for their local decision-makers.
Not likely, was the message from
Peter Frost (Secretary of State Appointed Member) who said that it would cost £30,000, and
reiterated the recent advice given to the authority by ENPAA[i][1] that “Members should be cautious about the desirability of direct elections,
as they were expensive and onerous to administer”.
The message from One Voice is “use it or lose it”: -
USE the upcoming public consultation meetings
USE the Defra consultation process
USE the Residents’ Online Survey
USE your voice to secure democracy for the future of your
children
or
LOSE the only opportunity for true democracy in your National
Park Authority
LOSE the benefits of the upcoming Localism Bill
LOSE forever the right to vote for the best candidates to run the
Authority
LOSE the New Forest way of life to an unaccountable bureaucracy
Imagine for a moment what everyday life would be like, if after this
review, NPA’s were not held accountable to ‘big society’ by the democratic
process of elections? It is in your
hands to make the difference.