Cumbria’s crime commissioner has said enforcement alone will not solve outdoor anti-social behaviour after it was revealed only two fines have been issued so far this year.
Fines of £100 are able to be handed out at sites across the national park where Public Space Protection Orders are in place and target people behaving anti-socially in outdoor spaces – including via illegal fly-camping, littering and fires.
Some of the orders have been in place since 2024 while several were newly introduced earlier this year.
So far this year, Cumberland Council said it has issued no fines while Westmorland and Furness has issued two.
A Westmorland and Furness Council spokesman said: “Education and engagement remain our preferred approach during patrols, and our teams have spoken to hundreds of people across weekday and weekend visits, including evenings.
“In total, officers have engaged with and where necessary, moved on 43 individuals or groups whilst using these interactions to encourage more responsible behaviour.
“There have been instances where this advice has been ignored and we have taken enforcement action using our Public Space Protection Orders where there is clear evidence of anti-social behaviour and environmental damage.
“We worked with Cumbria Police to issue two fixed penalty notices for camping-related anti-social behaviour and environmental damage in the Ullswater area, with a further 11 notices issued at Appleby Horse Fair under the same legislation.
“Despite ongoing work with landowners, issues persist in areas including Ullswater, Blea Tarn, Harrowslack, Coniston (Brown Howe) and Red Nab.
“We will continue to work in partnership to carry out patrols, encourage visitors to respect and care for these special places, and take enforcement action where required.”
Across both councils, an overall total of 123 groups of people have been engaged with and moved on since the start of the year.
A Cumberland Council spokesman said: “The council continues to take a balanced and proactive approach to managing issues covered by Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), including fly-camping, anti-social behaviour and outdoor fires.
“So far this year, the council has provided targeted patrols, focusing on key holiday periods when visitor numbers are highest.
“Further patrols are planned, including joint multi-agency activity to ensure a coordinated approach on the ground.
“Through this work, we estimate that around 80 groups have been engaged with, either through education or by being moved on where necessary.
“Our priority is always to raise awareness and encourage responsible behaviour, helping people understand how to enjoy Cumberland’s landscapes safely and respectfully.
“At this stage, no fixed penalty notices have been issued. As a council, our approach is to educate first and use enforcement only where it is necessary and proportionate.”
David Allen, Cumbria’s police, fire and crime commissioner, is chair of the Strategic Visitor Management Group, a team dedicated to tackling anti-social behaviour in the Lake District.
It brings together agencies including the Lake District National Park Authority, National Trust, Forestry England, United Utilities, Cumberland Council, Westmorland and Furness Council, highways, police, mountain rescue and fire as well as business groups Enterprising Cumbria and Cumbria Tourism.
The group is currently gearing up for this year’s peak summer season with the school holidays just around the corner.
Mr Allen said landowners and organisations cannot ‘enforce their way out’ of issues with outdoor anti-social behaviour and that education, engaging with fly-campers and moving people on is the higher priority.
He added: “This is not about enforcement, what we don’t want to do is try and enforce our way out of this.
“We use this phrase in policing and it’s ‘you cannot arrest your way out of the problem’ and it is the same thing with this enforcement.
“You’re just dealing with a symptom of the issue, we could throw loads of enforcement at it, but it will not stop it, education alongside engagement, communication and enforcement is the way forward.
“The PSPOs are not a silver bullet, they are not something that is going to fix it all, nor are there enough resources in any agencies singularly to tackle it over the 2,362 square kilometres of national park. It’s a case of targeting the worst areas and hotspot areas.
“Most of the engaging with people and moving them on is not dissimilar to normal policing, a lot of that is talking to people and saying don’t be daft and light a fire pit when it’s 25°C and most people do respond and they do listen.
“The group is there to strike that balance between welcoming visitors and protecting communities and it’s a delicate balance.
“We want visitors and we don’t want to frighten them away with camping enforcement, but by the same token, we don’t want people leaving rubbish here, so it’s come and visit, but leave no trace and I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”
Mr Allen said that more money and resources have been put into efforts to control anti-social behaviour in the national park this year.
He added: “The group’s role is to bring everyone together and coordinate activity, so we’ve done that over this last year in particular and more money and more resource has gone into it.
“We also have a number of sub-groups, so we have one for communications to use different ideas to get the message across and one dedicated to enforcement and other key things.
“We’ve had joint patrols taking place literally every weekend. Police are out most weekends and they do work closely with national park and National Trust rangers.
“We have made people clean up after themselves and move on and if they don’t, they face the fine.
“I would like to see more staff involved with the Public Space Protection Order work without a shadow of a doubt and I’ve given a commitment to that. But the actual enforcement of fining people is probably the last part of our engagement aims.
“It’s about education and getting the PSPOs in place where they’re needed and then doing enforcement activity targeting the clear anti-social behaviour.
“More importantly it’s targeting the nasty yobbish behaviour, that is where the police will step in and get involved.
“There is no one single silver bullet because there is no one landowner, the PSPOs are a start, but both authorities need more support to administer and enforce and that can only be done with funding that is not there at the moment.”
The group has also this year started mapping reports of anti-social behaviour to identify hotspots.
It has also put more resource into communicating with the public on social media and bringing in private security at different locations.
Mr Allen said: “One of the things we’ve also done for the first time this year is we’re having mapping take place.
“So we’re encouraging people to report fly-camping or litter and we’re saying tell us about it, don’t complain on Facebook, tell the authorities.
“We have two Public Space Protection Order emails and when people email in with the location, it goes into a mapping software we have, so we know where to target on joint patrols and where better signage is needed.
“I actually saw a couple pull up in a van on the shores of Ullswater, they got a barbecue out and then they saw one of the new signs saying ‘no fires or barbecues PSPO area’ and they actually put the barbecue away.
“They still parked in the layby, but they weren’t committing any anti-social behaviour or lighting fires in areas where it could result in a wildfire, so that’s a win.”
Mr Allen added that the group is currently looking to improve ways for the public to report incidents of outdoor anti-social behaviour.
He said: “Reporting for the PSPOs is at the moment problematic.
“There are two emails, but there is no way to report something 24/7 and that is something that needs to be addressed in the future.
“The only 24/7 line is the police and most incidents don’t hit the threshold for police intervention, so there is work to be done over the next 12 months to create a more immediate response rather than just an email that gets picked up from Monday to Friday.”
Poor parking and traffic management is also a top priority for the group.
Over 50 parking fines were handed out in one weekend alone in the South Lakes in May this year.
Mr Allen said: “Bad parking will probably be something that needs to be addressed with park and rides in the future.
“If you look at Rannerdale, you can’t go when the bluebells are out because you can’t get anywhere near it because of the volume of traffic and people just parking stupidly.
“So we will be working with the local councils in that area for next year as the sheer volume of people visiting took everyone by surprise this year.
“A local sprinter bus couldn’t get through and that was not reported to the police for them to come and clear the road.
“But people have got to tell us these things, I have a frequent phrase that just putting it on social media and shouting about it doesn’t mean that anybody else actually knows about it.
“If you want something done, please ring the proper authority. If a bus can’t get through, ring the police and tell them the road is blocked, they will come and clear it.
“But they have to know about it to do it, don’t just put a post up thinking someone is reading it, I can assure you the police aren’t.”
Mr Allen added that the group meets every three weeks to keep on top of planning for peak seasons and specific peak periods.
He said that the strategic visitor management group has a gold group that meets every three weeks to discuss issues raised by its sub-groups.
It allows for planning to take place around key dates and for expenditure to be examined for projects like the hiring of private security, who recently attended Summer Solstice at Castlerigg Stone Circle.
He said: “People don’t see how much work goes on behind the scenes, joint patrols don’t just happen, there’s a lot of planning between the different agencies.
“There’s also a lot of planning around key dates such as the Rannerdale bluebells or social media hyped areas and we do something about it and most of it is by education and communication and the last line is enforcement.
“Tourism counts for a huge percentage of Cumbria’s economy and it’s hugely important and brings a lot of money to the area.
“We want people to come here and see it all, you don’t have to go to New Zealand for amazing mountains and hills, but we also want to keep it like that.
“The group is there to strike that balance between welcoming visitors and protecting communities and it is a delicate balance.”
While Mr Allen said the Public Space Protection Orders were not a cure-all, he added that they are making a significant difference.
He said: “They are making a difference. Last year we literally couldn’t do anything for Ullswater. People were camping on National Trust land and it was classed as civil trespass without the PSPO in place.
“So there was no ability to enforce, rangers could ask them to leave but they would have to go to court if they refused.
“Campsites are expensive, but they’re not that expensive if you’re just visiting with just a tent and there are price options for everyone.
“There’s a number of temporary pop up sites near Ullswater. But will we stop the people with a festival tent, a bag of beer and a barbecue? Possibly not, but there are things we can look to do in the future.
“Really where possible, people should please use the proper campsites, there are hundreds across the county.
“One group we moved on last year were up near Brothers Water and they were 100 metres away from a campsite and on the lake shore which is a breeding area for birds. They were fined and moved on, but if they’d just gone down the road they wouldn’t have been fined.
“For those interested in vanlife we can look at having places where people can plug in and dispose of waste safely and bring in park and ride buses in to get people into the pretty areas.
“That is what we need to look at in the future, we’re not there yet, but that is certainly what we want to do with local authorities and the mayoral authority to try and manage what are increasing visitor numbers.”
Mr Allen said that the enforcement powers of the Public Space Protection Orders are there to target a very small minority of people.
He added: “I want to avoid things where people are parking on farmers fields and slurry is being sprayed over cars and I want to avoid things like what happened in Rannerdale where locals could not get their kids to school as the road was blocked and a bus couldn’t get through.
“Those are the things we have to deal with so we’re looking after local people and their needs, but also looking after the tourists we get who bring a lot of money into the county.
“Most people come here and respect the Lakes. There is an incredibly small minority who ignore the rules and the enforcement is there for them.
“It’s not to be heavy-handed or imposing, it’s to keep Cumbria as gorgeous as it is and keep it fit for purpose for generations to come.”
How can I report outdoor anti-social behaviour?
You can report fly-camping, littering, unauthorised fires and any other outdoor anti-social behaviour via email:
- Cumberland Council: [email protected]
- Westmorland and Furness Council: [email protected]
