A survey carried out by a Lake District landscape charity has revealed that people feel agencies responsible for tackling the issue are passing the buck.
Friends of the Lake District organised the online survey, which had 785 responses.
The majority of those who responded (82%) were permanent residents of Cumbria.
97% of respondents said they had encountered litter, 80% reported wildfires or barbecues and 77% fly-camping. 34% experienced an aggressive reaction when challenging those responsible – and it is likely that many others choose not to do so out of fear for their safety.
58% said they did not report what they came across. Of those who did, many received at best a mix of ‘sympathy and resignation’ and at worst ‘a total lack of interest’, the survey found.
Friends of the Lake District said: “Some of those contacted, such as the National Trust, lack the authority to move people on. Those that do have the authority appear to set high thresholds for getting involved: a wildfire on the brink of escalating or a fly-camper who has become aggressive.
“There is a strong perception of the buck being passed between different agencies. In this context, many local people choose to pick up after fly-campers – in effect, to solve the problem themselves because they either don’t know who best to report to or receive an unsatisfactory reaction when doing so.
The charity said the survey found that sometimes some form of action was taken, but without adequate follow-up.
At Wastwater, posters were put up with numbers to call if people started barbecues on the beaches but those using this facility reported that the police were disinterested.
In another case, “signs were eventually put up but there’s no monitoring and nothing done to replace the signs that get removed by visitors”.
The charity said: “This lack of concerted action makes the problem worse: signage and hotlines have no effect if there is no consequence if signs are ignored (or removed) and calls to hotlines are not acted upon.
“Those responsible are encouraged either to think that they’re not doing anything wrong or to rely on a lack of sanctions.”
Jeremy Smith, head of campaigns and engagement at Friends of the Lake District, said: “These findings paint a very worrying picture. There is a visual impact from piles of rubbish around our lake shores and there are risks to the health of wildlife as well as people.
“Most troubling of all, this situation is making local residents afraid to walk their favourite walks and unable to enjoy the countryside around where they live.”
65% of respondents said that the situation was worse this year than last.
The principal affected areas are Ullswater and Derwentwater, with high levels of anti-social behaviour also being reported in Buttermere, Borrowdale and Ennerdale, suggesting that these sorts of tourism impacts are no longer confined to longstanding hotspots around Windermere.
The charity said: “From the survey, there is a strong signal that those with a stake in these issues – particularly Cumberland Council Westmorland & Furness Council, the Lake District National Park Authority and the police – need to take more seriously the impact on residents’ sense of security, well-being and their enjoyment of the natural spaces around where they live.
“When asked what steps they think should be taken, survey respondents overwhelmingly favour a combination of more patrols and tougher penalties – a ‘catch and punish’ mentality that reveals the strength of feeling of local residents and the sense that many are at the end of their tether.”
Jeremy added: “What we need is a reset in public understanding of what is acceptable. Providing clarity as to what is permitted is part of the solution, but there also needs to be more tactical patrolling backed up by proper enforcement.
“A few fines for breaches of Public Space Protection Orders would go a long way if widely publicised. The point is deterrence not punishment – and signalling to residents that they’re no longer being ignored.”
The charity said there were signs that the national park authority and councils were becoming more responsive, with Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner David Allen, has played a convening role.
It added: “Westmorland & Furness Council is exploring the extension of PSPOs into other tourist hotspots.
“With some legitimacy, the national park and David Allen himself have cited limited resources as a challenge to the authorities’ ability to take appropriate action.
“Many survey respondents draw from this the conclusion that a visitor tax would help fund a more proportionate response: as one puts it, ‘we really need more folk on the ground which will only happen once a tourist tax is imposed and we have the resources to have feet on the ground to manage this problem’.”
Jeremy added: “This summer has been awful. We welcome the fact that littering and fly-camping are being taken more seriously, but if words don’t translate into action, the sense of disconnect between residents and the authorities will intensify.
“These issues cannot be allowed to fall off the agenda as the main summer season ends. The police, councils and the national park need a more proactive approach to prevent this situation escalating out of control again next year.”
