Cotswolds national park bid backed by MP David Drew

David Drew says the Cotswolds suffers from "disunity" and "incoherence"

An MP is calling for the Cotswolds to be given national park status.

David Drew, the Labour MP for Stroud, believes it would bring in extra money and tourists as well as better co-ordinate planning and housing.

It is currently an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) covering nearly 800 sq miles.

Fiona Howie, chief executive of the Campaign for National Parks, said the move "would recognise that there's a lot more going on in the area".

'Cultural heritage'

Ms Howie said the status would recognise the natural beauty of the area, and allow it to "conserve and enhance the wildlife and the cultural heritage of the park".

"It would recognise that there's a lot more going on in the area and enable people to champion that more than arguably the AONB status at the moment."

The organisation said it was not campaigning for the move but works to protect current national parks.

Dr Drew said the current Cotswolds AONB covers "at least six different local authority areas and crosses county boundaries".

The shadow minister for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the Cotswolds suffers from "disunity" and "incoherence in planning, in housing, and employment creation".

"Making the Cotswolds a national park would bring extra money into the area, would lead us to innovative solutions to infrastructure and would also encourage business development."

National parks and AONBs

There are 15 national parks across the UK including the Lake District, the Peak District, the Norfolk Broads, and the South Downs.

There are also 46 areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Planning is the major difference with each national park having a single body for planning whereas AONBs rely on the local authorities.

AONBs are part-funded by the government and partly by local authorities.