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25
Feb
Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority in 'strong and confident' financial position after job loss fears
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is now in a “strong and confident” financial position after previous fears of job losses and cut-backs.
YDNPA chief executive David Butterworth warned last year the authority was facing a “financial cliff” with possible redundancies and the need to restructure the organisation due to a loss of funding.
But in an update given to the finance and resources committee yesterday (February 24), the senior officer said the outlook for the 2026/27 budget and beyond was much brighter.
He said:
This is in many ways the most encouraging financial position that we have been able to report for some time and it places the authority in a comparatively strong and confident position as we move into the new financial year.
Mr Butterworth said that after uncertainty about the new government’s intentions for national park funding, the emerging picture was now “much clearer and significantly more positive”.
He added:
Firstly, the government has honoured its commitment to providing a three-year settlement for national park authorities. The first year is definitive, the next two are indicative and we’ve not had that for a while.
Crucially, this includes not just revenue grant but also substantial capital allocations, Farming in Protected Landscapes funding and the Access for All grant.
While revenue remains tight, to say the least, the stability and scale of capital programs allow us to plan with much greater confidence and to continue investing in our infrastructure and long-term objectives.
The meeting heard the authority would have an income of around £12 million for 2026/27, which was well above the £10.3 million needed to achieve its income objectives.
Mr Butterworth said there was ongoing pressure on revenue budgets.
But he said the authority was in a better position to manage these pressures thanks to new rules allowing it to reclassify some expenditure as capital costs.
A reduction in the employer pension contribution from 12.4 per cent to 6.3 per cent was also saving around £270,000 per year.
Mr Butterworth, who retires this year, said the budget reflected a “far more stable political and financial landscape than we have experienced for quite some time”.
“It does equip the authority to continue to deliver high-impact programmes that support nature recovery, climate resilience, access for all, heritage, rural livelihoods and the wider visitor economy, and it demonstrates that we remain a confident, capable and fiscally responsible organisation,” he added.
The 2026/27 budget was approved by members.
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