Remnants of farming past: cultural heritage and living landscapes in the Dales National Park
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 08/06/2017

Representative of similar conservation processes globally, the UK National Parks manage the often competing interests of conservation and the needs, lifestyle and economy of residents. Whilst primary legislation and the Sandford Principle provide statutory underpinning and formal guidance for addressing conflicting issues within UK National Parks, the nuances of conservation management in protected areas means such matters are often significantly more complex in practice.
Within the Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP) the friction between cultural heritage and the modern rural economy is often symbolised by the prominent stone-built field barns: integral parts of a dispersed and largely defunct historical farming regime, yet monuments that now have considerable heritage and landscape importance in their own right. This paper will explore the approaches taken to managing the traditional farm building resource as part of a living landscape in the YDNP, whether through formal development management or ‘soft’ approaches such as community engagement. It will also explore the wider abstract and ethical issues raised by this tension between heritage conservation and the needs of the present.

Jim Brightman, Solstice Heritage