John Dower

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For the historian, see John W. Dower.

John Dower was a civil servant and architect, who, as secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks, produced in 1945 the first post-war official report which set out what National Parks in England and Wales should be like:

An extensive area of beautiful and relatively wild country in which, for the nation’s benefit and by appropriate national decision and action, (a) the characteristic landscape beauty is strictly preserved, (b) access and facilities for public open-air enjoyment are amply provided, (c) wild-life and buildings and places of architectural and historical interest are suitably protected, while (d) established farming use is effectively maintained.

This report, and a subsequent one by Sir Arthur Hobhouse, laid the foundations for the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 which created the National Park system.

The headquarters building of the Countryside Agency is named John Dower House in his honour.

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