John Blewitt
Joint Co-ordinator, Harrogate Friends of the Earth
Problems caused by traffic
There’s a huge problem in terms of the increase in traffic - car traffic. This congestion is often quite disturbing for local residents. It also adds to the pollution of the area and it also denigrates the natural beauty of the area just by having cars and just increased pressure for roads and related things. So tourism needs to be encouraged in a balanced way which respects the natural integrity of the area and the people who have to live and work there more than just the summer period.
Negative aspects of tourism:
I think what’s important is to ensure that the Dales is seen as something other than a one day tourist attraction. I think a problem relating to that is a large influx of people at particular times, on day trips in the summer. It supports certain shops, certain businesses but these are very, very seasonal and it doesn’t really help the dales in the long term.
