STAFFING at the North York Moors National Park Authority will be reduced by more than 10 per cent after more cuts were approved.

The group, which has already accepted 11 voluntary redundancies, has agreed to sound out the Charity Commission to set up an independent charitable trust to attract more funding and protect staff.

The final proposals for the National Park Authority’s spending cuts for 2015-18, made in light of an unprecedented squeeze on grant funding, were put to members of the authority at a meeting this week.

Andy Wilson, chief executive of the North York Moors National Park Authority, said he was unsure if the cuts would stop there.

"The Moorbus, a network of buses that enabled people to get to the national park, were cut last year," he said.

"We don't know what will happen to our funding in the years to come and it's possible we will be cut even further.

"We have lost well over 40 per cent of our Government funding grants by the end of the next financial year."

A report produced following the meeting revealed the authority would be hit by cuts in key areas.

Four staff in the Park Services Department are facing redundancy, with seven existing employees expected to be interviewed for three posts.

Two staff have resigned in the Forward Planning Team and jobs have been lost in Customer Services.

Mr Wilson added: "Setting up a trust is a good thing to do but it's unlikely to make a huge difference in the short term.

"It will bring more resources to the area in the long term but no where near as much as we have lost."