A Cumbria Crack story recently highlighted the wide range of opinions regarding what is and what is not acceptable in the Lake District.
Many people seem to be absolutely against while some recognise some merit with a range of views in between.
In essence, the debate on this one property mirrors that of the whole Lake District as a national park. Is it a place that has to be preserved in aspic or can it be a dynamically changing, lived in, environment?
The debate over a zipwire and activity hub at Thirlmere which was refused, and a similar, approved, application for a 1km zip wire at Honister Slate Mine demonstrates that there are significantly different views on what is and what is not acceptable in the national park.
Let us first take Thirlmere as an example: Thirlmere was, originally, a small, natural, body of water and it was enlarged to what we see today by the then Manchester Corporation who dammed the valley, having had a private bill passed by Parliament.
Even then, there was a vociferous debate which included the poet John Ruskin, a leading environmental campaigner of the day, where it was claimed the project would damage the peace and quiet of this unique ecology, while the then Bishop of Manchester argued that this was trumped by two million Mancunians needing a regular supply of clean water.
The project was approved and what we see today, even more so since the felling of the trees alongside the A591, is the result. Just as an aside, generations of visitors must have thought that straight lines of non-native tree species were a natural phenomena!
Honister is slightly different. Did anyone ever apply for permission to take out the slate back in the mists of time or did the then and subsequent landowners just take it as their right to take minerals from their land. Of course, these days, Honister Mine had to jump through hoops to get their zip wire approved. In fact, they might add a few hoops to their zip wire to show this.
The various debates, while demonstrating a wide range of views, seem to fall into two camps: One that want to see the landscape untouched by man and another that wants to see development that encourages visitors who, increasingly demand more to do than walk up and down a hill.
However, the bottom line is that the Lake District is not a natural environment and is not a manmade environment, it is a complex mix of the two.
Yes, the great ice ages carved out the volcanic rocks into magnificent mountains, valleys, tarns, waters and one lake (yes, this cat is a pedant – the only lake is Bassenthwaite Lake!), but since this happened man has built the dry stone walls that stretch over the horizon, the Romans built roads and forts, even on top of Hardknot pass which, you can bet your bottom dollar would not have been given planning permission if the application was today.
So, how do we allow change without damaging the very nature of what attracts people to the Lakes? Indeed, what does attract them?
Somehow, we have to have a balancing act between local interests who want people to come to the national park to spend money in their guest houses, hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and cafes and those who do not want to see anything that detracts from the aesthetic value of the park.
This has always been and is challenging. Many of those who object do not live or have businesses in the park, but many do. Likewise, many who want to see developments live outside the area and want to have reasons to visit, while many live in the park and want to see their businesses thrive, providing work.
Then again, many of those who work in the Lakes, especially in hospitality or retail, can’t actually afford to live there. Another argument the Cat has highlighted in the past.
Of course, there are places in the UK that have a world class environment that don’t have the restrictions imposed by being a national park.
Cornwall has stunning coastal features from rocky headlands through deep, navigable inlets, to golden beaches. Different to the Lake District but equally stunning where they have to manage their environment through more localised planning rules and one that can’t prevent large, ocean going, ships of uncertain future, being moored on the River Fal.
Someone, somewhere, sometime must make decisions about what is to be allowed in the Lake District and what is not. Those decisions have to take into account that the lakes are a hybrid environment, a mix of natural wonders and cultural characteristics derived from millennia of human habitation and, dare I say the word, exploitation.
I don’t envy that person. After all, you don’t want to upset Kevin McCloud or a latter day John Ruskin.
About Cumbria Cat
Born in Cumberland and, from 2023, will be back living in Cumberland, having spent most of the past 50 years in some place called Cumbria, this cat has used up all nine lives as well as a few others.
Always happy to curl up on a friendly lap, the preference is for a local lap and not a lap that wants to descend on the county to change it into something it isn’t. After all, you might think Cumbria/Cumberland/Westmorland is a land forged by nature – the glaciers, the rivers, breaking down the volcanic rocks or the sedimentary layers – but, in reality, the Cumbria we know today was forged by generations of local people, farmers, miners, quarriers, and foresters.
This cat is a local moggy, not a Burmese, Ocicat or Persian, and although I have been around the block a few times, whenever I jump, I end up on my feet back in my home county. I am passionate about the area, its people, past, present and future, and those who come to admire what we hold dear, be it lakes and mountains, wild sea shores, vibrant communities or the history as rich and diverse as anywhere in the world.
