This is copied from an email to me from 38 degrees..

Our beautiful countryside is under threat. Government cuts are forcing huge land sell-offs in the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. [1]

People-powered campaigning created our national parks over 50 years ago. [2] And it can save them now. A huge public backlash could stop further cuts and force the government to protect our national parks.

Can you sign the petition calling on David Cameron to save our national parks?

David Cameron,

Please save our National Parks. Stop cutting their funding and make sure National Park Authorities have enough money to protect our most iconic landscapes for future generations.

Sign the petition

National parks are looked after by National Park Authorities (NPAs) who are funded by central government. They’re supposed to act as custodians of these precious places – for people, wildlife and future generations. [3] But after rounds of cuts NPAs are slashing jobs, and looking for other ways to balance the books. [4]

In the Lake District seven iconic beauty spots are already up for sale. Stickle Tarn, described as “iconic, simply majestic” – £20,000. Baneriggs Wood, an “exceptional mature deciduous woodland” complete with red squirrels and rare birds – £110,000. [5] In the Yorkshire Dales eight properties are now earmarked for “disposal” [6]

David Cameron and his government hold the purse strings. It’s their decisions that are forcing our national treasures onto the market. Sign the petition here to protect our national parks:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-national-parks

Back in 2011, the government tried to privatise another set of beauty spots – the public woodlands owned by the Forestry Commission. 38 Degrees members helped block those sales. [7] We know the true value of preserving Englands wild spaces, and why it matters to keep them in public hands. So let’s come together again to save our National Parks.

Thanks for being involved,

I heard they’re going to build a new morrisons on it so I’m all for it.

Signed

95% of the Yorkshire Dales National Park is already in private ownership.
Can’t see any details of what these ‘huge land sell-offs’ actually consist of.

38 degrees are campaign whores. They’ll post an email on anything they can raise money on to pay their wages and raise their profile. I have seen some success like Forestry Comission but they really will raise a petition for pretty much anything.

We would be better served by donating funds to a suitable entity to actually buy the land, eg National trust.

COmplete non story – the restrictive covenants on the land will ensure access is maintained and there’ll be zero development permitted on them. They are very small packets of land with little to no commercial value. Very different to the forestry sell off which would have meant a reduction in access and potentially more commercially aggressive forestry.

38 degrees are campaign whores.

I wholeheartedly endorsed their ‘Stand up to Trump’ campaign though.

Better than shifting position awkwardly.

This is copied from an email to me from 38 degrees..

I stopped reading at that point.

COmplete non story – the restrictive covenants on the land will ensure access is maintained and there’ll be zero development permitted on them. They are very small packets of land with little to no commercial value. Very different to the forestry sell off which would have meant a reduction in access and potentially more commercially aggressive forestry.

What @thestabilizer said. I’d be happy to donate to a crowd funding type campaign to buy the land for a charity. I saw the story a while back and looked at the plots on the OS map. Basically these plots are of no significant value and will likely be bought by a charity or a benevolent land owner.

When 38 degs first started it was very good at raising awareness for important issues that got no news cover. Now its just more junk mail

Sweet, always wanted to buy a wood and now if theres a influx of them coming onto the market they might become cheaper.

38 Degrees = as bad as the DM/ITV. There’ll be another weather bomb along soon…

@ thisisnotaspoon- nice contribution.

Yes they might be campaign shores but there are genuine, important things that I’d be none the wiser too if it wasn’t for them. They are big in campaigning for mp’s expenses not to be hidden, saving the NHS and protecting our trade laws and personal data from oversees..

They’re a bit like the Amazon of political campaigning.

“You recently signed a petition to ban seal clubbing. Other people who signed that petition also signed: banning whale hunting, protecting red squirrels, preventing badger culls and stopping the battery farming of mink.”

thestabiliser – Member

COmplete non story – the restrictive covenants on the land will ensure access is maintained and there’ll be zero development permitted on them. They are very small packets of land with little to no commercial value

So why is anyone buying them?

I love the headlines

“huge parts of our national parks being sold off….”

It is about 100 acres in total over about 10 sites. So about the size of 5 Tesco stores then.

And before the creation of the Parks the areas involved were 100% in private ownership.

I must have unsubscribed from 38 degrees perhaps 100 times, since having once signed one of their petitions many years ago. They just seem incapable of permanently removing you from their mailing list, and to me that is a good enough reason to never support them again.

Lets all chip in and buy a forest or a few hills and make Bike Park England.

So why is anyone buying them?

Maybe just to enjoy occasionally. We own about 20 acres in Maine – it’s forested shoreline, completely undeveloped, we just go every 5-10 years to poke about in the woods and play on the seashore.

So why is anyone buying them?

Trafford Centre 2?

Seriously, there are incentives/land management scemes etc that estates with exisiting infrastrucutre and man powre can make a small commercial gain on by basically cultivating/not cultivating it according to planning/SSSI/Euro objectives. Paid to do nowt – this only works if you;re a cash buyer (so no speculators using borrowed money etc) and spend very little on it. i.e. leave it as it is.

Can you be more specific on location as I’m in the market for a woodland.

thestabiliser – Member

Seriously, there are incentives/land management scemes etc that estates with exisiting infrastrucutre and man powre can make a small commercial gain on by basically cultivating/not cultivating it according to planning/SSSI/Euro objectives. Paid to do nowt – this only works if you;re a cash buyer (so no speculators using borrowed money etc) and spend very little on it. i.e. leave it as it is.

Still sounds like we shouldn’t be selling the things in order to pay people to do nothing

List of bits for sale here

http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/aboutus/news/news-pages/sale-of-lake-district-national-park-property

Sale details here (you need to search a bit to find them)

http://www.michael-cl-hodgson.co.uk/