UK Nature and Environment

Campaigners have celebrated an “important victory” in a closely watched case that will determine whether the government will enforce new legislation aimed at protecting national parks and landscapes in England.

Dedham Vale is a designated “national landscape” on the border of Essex and Suffolk, home to increasingly rare species including hazel dormice and hedgehogs. Within it is Manningtree station, where the train operator Greater Anglia built an extension to the car park to cope with increased traffic.

The Dedham Vale Society and Campaign for National Parks said the works, which included an extension to add capacity for another 200 cars, dozens of lighting columns, a 190-metre-long steel wall and bike storage, inhibited public access to St Edmund Way, an ancient pilgrimage path, generated light pollution and threatened habitats.