AN ambition to create a ‘honeypot’  at the best known entrance to a national park to attract more visitors looks set to be cut back, partly due to a lack of officers to manage the project.

Despite the North York Moors National Park Authority setting its biggest ever budget of £9m, members heard parts of the flagship scheme at Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, which could cost up to £2m, may need to be delayed.

At a meeting of the full authority in Helmsley, members described the £4.6m it had raised through seeking grants and other sources to supplement the £4.3m national park grant from Defra as a  “triumph”, particularly when considered against recent financial forecasts.

Officers said while the authority had been very successful in applying for external funding and was running more projects than ever before, the authority’s staffing levels to service this had remained at a reduced level following austerity measures, and officers were at “full capacity”.

Members were told it faced finding a way to fund an increase in its staff to deal with the workload or limit its projects.

The authority’s chairman, Jim Bailey, said: “It wouldn’t be fair to say the national park hasn’t got the capacity to do a lot of work, it is about managing our core capacity to fit the short-term opportunities.”

The authority managing the 554 square mile area is set to learn if it will be allowed to submit a bid for EU funding, which it is hoped would fund most of the Sutton Bank scheme.

Members heard £460,000 of the park’s budget was being set aside for the Sutton Bank proposals, which aim to increase visitor activities, such as horse riding, walking and cycling.

Other key parts of the plan include Visitor Centre extensions to improve the cafe, retail and displays, a bird hide and dark skies viewing platform and more car parking at the site.

It has been predicted that with the changes, visitor numbers would increase by up to 40 per cent by the third year after completion.

Officers are set to consider what elements of the Sutton Bank plan would be most likely to bring cuts in the cost of running the centre, while moving the scheme forward.