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15-849: In the United Kingdom, the term country park has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated country parks in England and Wales attracting some 57 million visitors a year, and another 40 or so in Scotland. Most country parks were designated in the 1970s, under the Countryside Act 1968 , with the support of the former Countryside Commission . In more recent times there has been no specific financial support for country parks directly and fewer have been designated. Most parks are managed by local authorities, although other organisations and private individuals can also run them. The 1968 Countryside Act empowered

30-402: A car park, toilets, maybe a cafe or kiosk, paths and trails, and some information for visitors. Some have much more, with museums, visitor centres, educational facilities, historic buildings, farms, boating, fishing, and other attractions. Many larger country parks organise entertainment for visitors, and are venues for firework displays, shows and fairs and other large, outdoor events. There

45-495: A council to make an emergency TPO in less than a day in cases of immediate danger to trees. TPOs were originally introduced in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 and the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947. Some TPOs therefore may be over 70 years old, and still valid. Current tree preservation orders in England and Wales are made under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and

60-480: A country park is to provide a place that has a natural, rural atmosphere for visitors who do not necessarily want to go out into the wider countryside. Visitors can enjoy a public open space with an informal atmosphere, as opposed to a formal park as might be found in an urban area. For this reason country parks are usually found close to or on the edge of built-up areas, and rarely in the wider countryside. A country park usually has some more formal facilities, such as

75-454: Is not necessarily any public right of access to country parks, and visitors are usually subject to byelaws when they enter the park. Some charge for car parking, some are free. These parks vary tremendously from one to another, and really have only their purpose in common: to provide easy access to the countryside for those living in the towns and suburbs . They do not necessarily have any great nature conservation interest, although often this

90-457: Is the case. In Hong Kong a large part of the territory's countryside is officially designated as country parks. Most of these are reservoir watersheds, serving the dual purpose of providing recreational facilities and contributing to Hong Kong's water supply. Countryside Act 1968 The Countryside Act 1968 (c. 41) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which enlarged

105-700: The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and made other amendments to the 1949 Act. It conferred upon water undertakers and the Forestry Commission powers to provide for public access and enjoyment in and around reservoirs and forests, and amended aspects of the Forestry Act 1967 , including provision for compensation in respect of the making of tree preservation orders . The Act gave powers and duties to highway authorities in respect of

120-599: The Act The Countryside in 1970 conferences held in 1963 and 1965 led to the publication in 1966 of a Government white paper called Leisure in the Countryside which proposed inter alia , the creation of country parks near to centres of population so as to ease pressures on wilder areas. The next year the publication of the report of the Gosling Committee recommended a suite of proposals concerning access to

135-573: The Countryside Commission to recognize country parks. Although the Act established country parks and gave guidance on the core facilities and services they should provide it did not empower the designation of sites as country parks, as it was left to local authorities to decide whether to endorse a site calling itself a country park. In England, country parks can be accredited by Natural England , and some also have Green Flag status. The purpose of

150-571: The Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012. In Scotland, similar provision is made under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (amended by the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006) and the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation Order and Trees in Conservation Areas (Scotland) Regulations 2010. Near equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland is

165-402: The amenity of the area. In Scotland TPOs can also be used to protect trees of historic or cultural significance. TPOs make the felling, lopping, topping, uprooting or otherwise willful damaging of trees without the permission of the local planning authority a legal offence, although different TPOs have different degrees of protection. They can be made very quickly and in practice it is normal for

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180-469: The conservation and recreation functions of the existing National Parks Commission and re-named it the Countryside Commission . It provided for the establishment of country parks and gave local authorities certain powers in respect of the management of common land and of the provision of camping and picnicking sites and provided for grants to such bodies for their establishment. It provided for

195-460: The countryside. The Countryside Bill which was then introduced to Parliament was informed by these two reports. Tree preservation order A tree preservation order ( TPO ) is a part of town and country planning in the United Kingdom . A TPO is made by a local planning authority (usually a local council ) to protect specific trees or a particular area, group or woodland from deliberate damage and destruction if those trees are important for

210-413: The employment of countryside wardens and for the making of byelaws in connection with such facilities. The Act conferred powers on certain authorities to exercise control over boating on waterbodies within national parks and over the conversion of moorland and heathland to agriculture. It put in place provisions regarding ‘ areas of special scientific value ’ and access to ‘open country’ as defined in

225-413: The signing of public paths and in respect of the maintenance of stiles and gates on paths. It introduced provisions regarding the ploughing and reinstatement of public paths during agricultural operations and also provided for bicycles to use public bridleways. Further provision was made as regards traffic regulation orders in parts of the countryside. Certain other miscellaneous provisions were made by

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