The public body responsible for managing the North York Moors National Park has sought to reassure residents following concerns a popular pedestrian route through its headquarters could be permanently closed as it seeks to redevelop the site.
Helmsley Town Council and residents are calling on the North York Moors National Park Authority to help ensure the route from Carlton Road to Bondgate be designated a public right of way before its Old Vicarage base is sold to raise funds for a purpose-built premises at Riccall Drive in the town.
The controversy follows the conservation body being accused of “hypocrisy” in June after revealing it wanted to build a multi-million pound new headquarters after not making a significant investment in maintaining its grade II listed headquarters on Bondgate for at least 25 years.
Following a series of meetings with the authority about its plan to convert the Old Vicarage into two, two-bedroom houses and three flats, residents said its officers had left a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the route which they say has been used by residents for at least 60 years.
Resident Ellie Taylor, whose change.org petition calling for the route to be made a designated public right of way has attracted more than 180 supporters, said: “Everybody uses the route, people on mobility scooters, wheelchairs, the elderly and parents with children on the school run.
“This isn’t just any old footpath as it’s the only safe route we have if you don’t drive to reach essential services such as the GP surgery, the pharmacy and the school.”
Campaigners say while the authority has a main purpose of increasing access to the protected area, preventing people using the route would have the opposite effect as it linked to a series of popular paths into the park.
Ms Taylor said: “If there is a designated right of way there the park authority will get less money for the site when they come to sell it.
“It feels like they’ve forgotten they are a public authority and publicly-funded and their role is to protect and support the community, not themselves, not whatever financial interests they have. They are acting like medieval overlords.”
North Yorkshire councillor for Helmsley and park authority member George Jabbour said as the route had been used for decades the park authority needed to work to have the route dedicated as a public right of way.
He said: “I am concerned that the reputation of the national park could be irreparably damaged if it regularly appears to act with respect to its own affairs in a manner that is inconsistent with what it preaches to the public.”
In response, the authority said it had not prevented pedestrian access to the route since moving to the site in the 1970s and that it did not intend to.
It said if its redevelopment proposal went ahead “access may need to be interrupted for a period of time to ensure public health and safety”, but did not suggest an alternative route residents could use during the works or if it agreed the route should be designated a public path.
Ian Nicholls, the authority’s corporate services director, said: “If the Old Vicarage were to come under new ownership, this history of pedestrian access would be inherited and the depth of community feeling about the route is acknowledged.
“The national park authority considers that returning the Old Vicarage to residential use is the best way to conserve it for future generations. The building sits in a wholly residential area, with staff parking in surrounding residential streets. This lack of parking also does little to make the building accessible to the authority’s guests and visitors.”
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