12.—(1) Where, in relation to an extensive area of countryside, the Department considers it desirable that measures be taken for the purposes of—
(a)conserving or enhancing the natural beauty or amenities of that area;
(b)conserving wildlife, historic objects or natural phenomena therein;
(c)promoting the enjoyment by the public of the area; and
(d)providing or maintaining public access to the area;
the Department may by order designate the area as a National Park.
(2) Part I of Schedule 3 shall apply to orders made under paragraph (1).
(3) The Ulster Countryside Committee shall advise the Department on the establishment and management of National Parks.
(4) Before making any such designation the Department shall consult each district council the whole or part of whose district is within the area to be designated.
13.—(1) The Department may formulate proposals for the achievement, in relation to the area of a National Park, of the purposes referred to in Article 12(1).
(2) Before formulating any proposals under paragraph (1) the Department shall consult the Committee for Nature Conservation and the Ulster Countryside Committee, and each district council the whole or part of whose district is within the area of the National Park.
14.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (4), where the Department considers an area (not being an area within a National Park) to be of such outstanding natural beauty that it is desirable that the provisions of this Article should apply to the area, the Department may make an order designating it as an area of outstanding natural beauty.
(2) Where the Department proposes to make an order under paragraph (1), the Department—
(a)shall consult—
(i)the Ulster Countryside Committee, and
(ii)every district council whose district includes any part of the area to which the proposed order is to relate; and
(b)shall then, before making the order, publish in the Belfast Gazette and in two newspapers circulating in the district of every such district council, a notice indicating—
(i)that it proposes to make the order,
(ii)the effect of the order, and
(iii)the time within which, and the manner in which, representations concerning the order may be made to the Department.
(3) The Department shall consider any representations made to it concerning the making of an order under paragraph (1).
(4) Where an order is made under paragraph (1), the Department shall secure that copies of the order are available for inspection at all reasonable times by members of the public—
(a)at the offices of every district council referred to in paragraph (2)(a)(ii); and
(b)at such other places in or near that area as the Department may determine.
(5) Subject to paragraph (6), the Department may, in relation to an area designated by order under paragraph (1), formulate proposals for—
(a)conserving or enhancing the natural beauty or amenities of that area;
(b)conserving wildlife, historic objects or natural phenomena within it;
(c)promoting its enjoyment by the public;
(d)providing or maintaining public access to it.
(6) Before formulating any proposals under paragraph (5), the Department shall consult the bodies mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) and the Committee for Nature Conservation.