THE group charged with conserving a national park and promoting opportunities for its enjoyment by the public has warned any further cut in Government funding could significantly hamper its work.

The alert has been issued to members of the North York Moors National Park Authority ahead of it setting a £9.2m budget for the coming financial year.

A report to the full authority meeting next week states that the level of financial risk facing the authority has grown and could be identified in areas ranging from Brexit to match funding.

The report states: “Above all however is the risk attached to any further reduction in the Defra grant. The authority’s finances are now so complex and have so many interdependencies that a reduction in grant would be both difficult to manage and inevitably have knock-on effects on other funding.”

The report said while the 1.7 per cent increase in the Government grant was welcome, inflation had risen above the level of the grant, resulting in a real terms cut to funding and more pressure on the authority’s finances.