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Costing the Earth

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Costing the Earth: Paying For Our Parks

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13/10/2015

Paying For Our Parks

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Paying For Our Parks

The National Parks are exploring new commercial opportunities. How far should they go?

The 15 National Parks in England, Wales and Scotland are exploring new ways of selling their brand name, Britain's Breathing Spaces. Tom Heap asks how far should they go.

Our National Parks are getting less money from central government - some have seen their grant cut by 40% in the past 5 years. To make up the shortfall, they're exploring new commercial opportunities.

As well as coming up with individual fund-raising plans, the 15 National Parks in England, Wales and Scotland have formed a joint body, called National Parks Partnerships. It's exploring new ways of selling their collective logo: "Britain's Breathing Spaces". The idea is modeled on a similar organisation in the USA, which has done million dollar deals with companies like Disney and Coca-Cola.

So, how far should our parks go down the commercial route? Tom Heap investigates.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

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