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National Parks and The Military
The military needs to train but do they need to take up quite so much of our national parks? That is the question now being posed (January 2007) by the Council for National Parks . . . and no doubt by many of us when walking in Northumberland, the Brecons, Dartmoor and many other areas.
Of course this debate also encompasses low flying military aircraft in Snowdonia and the Lake District. Is this essential and awe inspiring or annoying and environmentally destructive?
The Council for National Parks fully acknowledges the need for some level of military training in national parks. The question posed, though, is whether this needs to be at current (and growing?) levels.
The CNP has just published research which assesses the impact, calls for an enquiry and makes recommendations on how the impact might be reduced in each of the Parks affected.
There have already been requests to remove live firing ranges from Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor, The Pembrokeshire Coast, Northumberland and the Peak District.
These requests have yet to be acted upon. So it seems that overall there is still a basic conflict between the purposes of the national parks (conservation and access) with the nation's need to provide opportunities for military training.
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I'm saddened to read that we are questioning the need for the military to train in our national parks. It is about time the country get behind the military and start supporting them, instead of picking out every angle they can, to undermine and criticize. There does need to be a balance and we do need to be pro-active in finding the right balance but if it were not for the training the army gave me, I would never have even ventured into the national parks and gained an interest in hill walking and the environment in general. The Brecons, Dartmoor, Otterburn etc . . . . are the training ground for some of the worlds most famous and feared military units - BRITISH units! Training for all units is constantly reduced in intensity to consider 'local issues'. Can we not start getting behind our military instead of in front of them to stop them doing everything they need to do? Failure to allow proper, realistic and effective training leads to death for military personnel. I don't want that on my hands and if giving up part of an area of beauty is the price, then I'd happily pay it. It is a shame that we even need a military force, but need them we do.
Chris Jones, Bath
Personaly I have no objection to the army using the National Parks for their training as long as they don't abuse the surrounding areas. It would be a breath of fresh air to see and talk to these people about their methods and kit.
Ian Collinson, Preston
I've just read Chris Jones' contribution and agree with his views. Many of us will have started our walking as a direct result of the training we received as members of HM Forces. Todays service personnel are under greater and greater strain with 6 month deployments, away from family and home comforts, becoming almost annual. These boys and girls need support where ever they can get it and to snipe at their needs for training is a cheap shot. There is also the need to protect the general public as they go about their daily business. By the nature of military training live ordanance is used and there needs to be a large safety margin around training areas to prevent any misdirected round landing near to or in any area that the public have access to. Many training areas have public access when firing is not in progress and the space is there for military training to co exist with the recreational needs of the remainder of the population.
Neil Costello, Worthing
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