RESEARCHERS looking at the roles national parks play in sustaining some of the UK's most endangered habitats have declared the North York Moors a particular haven for wildlife.

The new assessment by National Parks England – an umbrella organisation which brings together all the country’s national parks – has found that while the UK’s ten national parks cover less than ten per cent of England, they contain very high proportions of wildlife-rich habitats. Up to 80 per cent of some habitats identified as national priorities for conservation are within the national parks, providing homes for some of the country’s most rare and threatened plants and animals.

They include the North York Moors National Park, which is home to Yorkshire’s last remaining population of the critically endangered freshwater pearl mussel and has internationally significant populations of merlin and golden plover.

Conservation concerns were recently raised about the impact on the area’s wildlife from a recently-approved £1.7bn potash mine, to be built near Sneaton in the North York Moors. The development prompted objections and concerns from a number of national environmental bodies. But the York Potash project, which is developing the mine, argues it has set aside £56m in 106 compensation money to off-set the impact on wildlife, landscape and recreation in the park.

There are also concerns about the impact of reductions in central government funding to national parks.

The Campaign for National Parks (CNP) recently carried out research which revealed cuts in Government funding of 40 per cent over the past five years to the North York Moors National Park Authority, which had led to reductions in public transport provision, educational projects and climate change mitigation, as well as a 27 per cent fall in staff numbers.

The latest National Parks England assessment says the North York Moor’s great diversity of landscape helps make it a particular haven for wildlife. It includes the largest continuous expanse of heather moorland in England, 26 miles of heritage coastline and one of the largest concentrations of veteran trees in the north of England, as well as species rich grassland and heaths.

It is the southernmost place for dwarf cornel and home to the most northerly colony of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly in Britain. Whales and dolphins are also regularly spotted off the coastline.

Secretary of State for the Environment, Liz Truss, said: “Our National Parks are some of the UK’s most beautiful natural environments which we want everyone to enjoy.”

Andy Wilson, chief executive of the North York Moors National Park Authority, said: “Our work with farmers and those who manage the land continues today to restore and link habitats, protect water resources, manage our woodland and a host of other projects to help our wildlife continue and hopefully to thrive.”