NEW research published this week into the impact of military training on national parks has sparked a call for an independent inquiry into the practice. The study has been published by the Council for National Parks (CNP), which is also recommending ways in which the impact of military use on parks like Dartmoor could be reduced. The research highlights what authors claim is the fundamental conflict between some military training activities and national parks, particularly firing with live ammunition, training with heavy artillery weapons and low flying by fast jets. These can lead to access bans during live firing, visual intrusion from military infrastructure such as look-out huts, warning flags and roads or tracks and noise disturbance which has an impact on people and wildlife. CNP policy chief Ruth Chambers said: 'CNP accepts that the armed forces need to train in the UK and that it would be unreasonable and impractical to argue that all military training in national parks should cease. 'The key issue is whether all the training that happens in national parks needs to happen there and whether military intensification in national parks is acceptable. 'We recommend that an independent review of military training and national parks should be held with the aim of relieving some of the impact on the parks from live firing, low flying and military infrastructure.' Jonathan Cardale, chief executive of the Dartmoor Preservation Association, welcomed the research and agreed with the call for an inquiry. 'The inquiry must also examine ways in which the impact of training might be reduced and public access increased,' he said.
