Norfolk Broads National Park

National Parks

Speech : 12 July 2004

2.25 pm

Mr. Keith Simpson (Mid-Norfolk) (Con): I congratulate the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Lawrie Quinn) on securing a debate on this important subject. I am lucky that my constituency straddles the broads at the eastern side. As hon. Members will know, the Norfolk and Suffolk broads are the UK's premier wetland area and have been shaped and matured since Roman times.

Agriculture remains a crucial element in the economy of the broads, but is more important today for securing the landscape and wildlife. Tourism is now the major driving force behind the economy. I know that the Minister has visited the broads in the past couple of years and that he used to go on the broads as a child, so he is well aware of the area's importance and natural beauty.

The broads were finally established as a UK national park under the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988, which was steered through the House by my predecessor in Mid-Norfolk, who is now Lord Ryder of Wensum. That legislation is tailored to meet the specific additional interest of protecting navigation on the broads.

The broads' boundary is tightly drawn around the rivers Bure, Yare and Waverley, and encompasses an area of about 301 km of mainly open, under-developed landscape of water, fens, marshland and woodland. It also includes many waterside villages and towns, such as Wroxham, Acle, Reedham and Brundle, which happen to lie in my constituency, as well as many others. It is a truly beautiful area. An extensive inland waterway system, comprising 190 km of navigable, lock-free rivers and permanently open water bodies is also an important part of the broads.

The Broads Authority has three aspects to its remit: first, conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the broads; secondly, promoting the enjoyment of the broads by the public; and thirdly, protecting the interests of navigation. One specific concern about the broads is the impact of climate change, especially the rise in sea level and the risks from flooding. Will the Minister comment on what additional action the Government are taking to protect the Norfolk broads from that growing threat?

Together with the important urban hinterland, the broads can facilitate growth and urban regeneration in that part of eastern England. Transport, including the road system, is absolutely crucial. The Minister will be aware of the vital importance to Norfolk of our main east-west road, the A47. Something that has particularly caught the local attention is the debate over the dualling of the so-called "Acle straight", the single-lane road between Acle and Great Yarmouth. The Highways Agency is due to report shortly on whether the road should be dualled.

One concern expressed by local people is that although the environmental impact is the main consideration, economic factors are not being considered at all. I spoke in a debate on transport in the eastern region the other week, supported by the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr. Wright). I know that that issue is not the Minister's responsibility, but it reinforces what the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby said about the fine balance in areas such as the broads between economic aspects, regeneration, and the natural habitat.

Managing the habitat is incredibly important. The wetlands and hinterlands are crucial for birds and wildlife. We must also consider the management of predators, and how they can be contained and eliminated. There is particular concern in several areas about foxes; without wishing to raise a fox hair, I ask if the Minister accepts the need to cull foxes, which according to the RSPB, are a threat to birds.

The total value of tourism to the broads was £146.6 million in 1998; more than 2.3 million visitors visit the broads annually. Boatbuilding and boat hiring are very valuable to the local economy. The hire-boat industry is the single most important provider of holidays in the broads; the number of licensed boats using the broads in any year is between 12,700 and 13,200, and 4,350 jobs in the broads area are dependent upon tourism. Other recreational activities include angling, sailing, walking and horse and bicycle riding. The economic aspect of a national park such as the broads cannot be over-emphasised.

The Broads Authority, which manages the broads, has an annual budget of approximately £4.5 billion and raises about £1 million in addition from external sources. It relies on a number of services provided by district councils, including public lavatories—not toilets, of course—and waste disposal. As the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson), who seems to be fascinated by the subject, said, we have a problem in that respect, which I shall mention briefly.

In the past few months, there has been considerable agitation in the broads area about the proposal by district councils—those that directly affect the broads and the hinterland—to close some, if not all, public conveniences. The hon. Gentleman is on record as saying that one district council in particular was being a cheapskate about the matter.

I did some factual investigation into the subject as it seemed to go beyond the national parks. I have received representations on the matter from the Broads Authority, the district council, the Broads Hire Boat Federation and from that most powerful of organisations, the Women's Institute of the village of Reedham. Quaver in your shoes, I say to the hon. Member for Norwich, North, at the thought of the WI intervening in this matter. There has been a lively correspondence in the local press about it and the Broads Authority will be discussing access to public lavatories and waste disposal at a board meeting on 16 July. Access to public lavatories on the broads and the removal of waste is very important not just for the environment but for local communities, business and tourism.

My concern in the debate is to consider the facts and to see what can be done to enlist the Minister's support where he is able to resolve the problem. He, and the hon. Gentleman, will be aware that district council funding for public conveniences is discretionary expenditure. Most district councils, especially those in Norfolk, are at a disadvantage because many of them have funds withheld by the Government and are facing problems in meeting their statutory obligations, let alone their discretionary obligations.

The future of public lavatories is a national problem and many councils throughout the country have already gone ahead and closed them. For example, Shepway has closed all 28 of its public lavatories, and South Devon district council has done the same. North Norfolk and South Norfolk district councils must also consider that solution. There is a financial problem connected with the issue, which I suspect affects the constituencies of other hon. Members whose constituencies cover parts of the national park. It will cost an extra £100,000 for Broadland district council to modernise its public lavatories, including the provision of disability access. That appears to be a small sum of money, but translated into the council tax, it means an extra 3 per cent. It is not a small-change issue.

What is the solution? I hope that the Minister can bring some pressure to bear on his colleagues in other Departments to admit that this is a national problem, and that the decision on withholding moneys from district councils should be reversed. In particular, Broadland district council, whose policy is under question at present, should be given the moneys that it is due. I believe that the Broadland district council should continue to find local solutions to the problem of keeping those public lavatories open, such as joint financing arrangements with parish or town councils. Such arrangements already exist with two parish councils in my constituency.

Given that the Broads Authority has recently received extra moneys for tourism and planning, it might, at its meeting on 16 July, consider some form of joint financing with local district councils for public conveniences, because those conveniences are needed by local communities, and also come under pressure from tourism.

As far as waste disposal is concerned, I know that some boatyards are establishing their own local agreements with district councils for the emptying of skips. One of the problems faced by many of our district councils is that a large amount of fly-tipping occurs around the skips, which causes major problems for the environment, as well as encouraging the rodent population. I hope that the district councils in Norfolk that cover the broads area can continue to maintain a waste disposal service for the broads, which the Government will support, and that there will also be contributions from other stakeholders.

My constituents in the broads area are privileged to live in an area of great natural beauty, but many of them also make their living from the area. They also have to extend a welcome to millions of tourists every year. The Government, district councils and the Broads Authority must resolve a number of competing issues of which, at the macro level, there is the impact of tourists on the environment and, at the micro level, the opening or closure of public conveniences.

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