Perceived landscape impacts of mobile telecommunications development in the Peak District National Park, England

Abstract

This study explored the public perceptions of mobile telecommunications development – new landscape elements installed to deliver new technology – in a protected area. It examined: (1) the perceived landscape impacts of such development; (2) the importance attached to the socio-economic value of mobile telecommunications; and (3) the factors underlying the perceived landscape impacts of mobile telecommunications development. A postal questionnaire survey was conducted in the Peak District National Park, England with 420 respondents drawn from National Park residents and visitors, urban dwellers and members of environmental organisations. The study suggests that: (1) there was a prevailing antipathy towards the landscape impacts of mobile telecommunications development in the National Park; (2) apart from emergency uses, the other socio-economic benefits of mobile telecommunications technology were thought to be relatively unimportant in the National Park; and (3) rather than socio-demographic characteristics, it was respondents' understandings of protected areas' needs for the technology and potential health risks that had significant effects on the perceived landscape impacts. Overall, this study suggests that the significance of National Park landscapes is respected by the public, even when setalongside the convenience of modern technology, which has substantial implications for landscape planning and management in protected areas.

Keywords:

• public perception
• protected areas
• socio-economic value
• symbolic attributes
• perceived health impacts
• National Park residents

Acknowledgements

This paper is based on a presentation given at the conference Our Shared Landscape, 2–6 May 2005, held in Ascona, Switzerland. The preparation for this paper was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK (Post-doctoral Fellowship, PTA-026-27-1347).