Click to sign up to our free monthly email newsletter full of topical stories about the Dales! The newsletter is GDPR compliant and you can unsubscribe at any time. 

A Green New Dales: Year One of the climate emergency

Saturday 3 October & Saturday 17 October 2020

An online FREE conference (by Zoom) jointly offered by Friends of the Dales and North Craven Heritage Trust.

A range of expert speakers will present on key themes such as a net-zero National Park; new thinking on planting trees in the Dales; water in the Dales; and using a "circular economy" to help businesses improve resilience and profits. 

Full details of the programme and how to book (closing date Weds 23 September) in the downloadable flyer.

AGM Saturday 19 September 2020

Members will be receiving a letter with late August with details of this year's AGM. This will be an online event (using Zoom) for limited participants, but with opportunities for proxy voting and submitting questions in advance.

Below you can download the Financial Statements below, and also a copy of the AGM letter and proxy voting form if you wish to. If you have any queries please contact Ann Shadrake, Executive Director by email or the contact form. 

Note: Friends of the Dales is a working name of the registered charity Yorkshire Dales Society (515384). Our registered company by guarantee name is the Yorkshire Dales Society (1822908). 

23 June 2020 - Objection to Planning Application at Langcliffe Quarry

We have submitted a detailed objection to an application to develop areas of the former Langcliffe Quarry due to the serious impact on the ecological, archaeological and cultural integrity of the Hoffmann Kiln and its surrounding area. You can read our full objection by downloading below. If you wish to make a comment on the application, visit the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's Planning Portal, and enter the application code C/48/615 to view the plans and submit your own comment. 

Photo shows our visit to the Hoffmann Kiln at Langcliffe Quarry during our AGM in 2018 (photo credit Ann Shadrake). 

8 June 2020 Tree Guards - A Growing Problem

Created by Laurence Parkin, this terrific "infographic" encapsulates our campaign for more trees in the Dales, but not more plastic! First published in the 150th anniversary edition of the Yorkshire Dales Review, the illustration can be downloaded (below) for sharing. The key messages are relevant to planting anywhere, not just in the Dales. With more treeplanting nationally mooted as part of the coronavirus pandemic "green recovery" we hope alternatives ways of planting trees can be explored, avoiding the use of single use plastic where possible. 

27 May 2020 - Objection to development at Hellifield Flashes

We've strongly objected to an application for development at the important wildlife and amenity site at Helllifield Flashes, and consider it entirely inappropriate for Craven District Council to be asked to make a decision on a new proposal before the barrister’s report (they commissioned) has been received and considered, and any restoration works (to previous works) satisfactorily carried out. See the plans, objections and comment yourself at the CDC planning portal here by entering the application number 2020/21553/OUT

Photo courtesy Save our Craven Countryside

30 April 2020 - Tracking Barn Conversions in the Dales

Download below a PDF of a presentation by our Trustee Nancy Stedman. Nancy is monitoring planning applications to convert barns in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Over recent years a change to planning policy has led to a big increase in applications to convert roadside barns to local occupancy homes or short term holiday lets. In her presentation Nancy explores the implications of this change in policy - are barns being conserved, and if so, is there more housing for local people? Due to the coronavirus situation, planned talks to local groups on this topic have been postponed - or are being held by video conferencing.

22 April 2020

Plastic Tree Guard Collection Day

Before the coronavirus "lockdown" guidance was issued, we held a very successful day collecting plastic tree guards in a Dales woodland for onwards recycling. Read a short report by Trustee Mark Corner and woodland owner, plus more photos, below.