A new strategic management plan for the Lake District setting out a vision for the national park in 2051 has been officially adopted.
The Lake District National Park Partnership Plan was adopted by the Lake District National Park Authority at a meeting on June 24.
The plan sets out the strategic management for the Lake District between 2026 and 2031 and was created by 24 partners including Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils, Lake District National Park Authority, Cumbria Tourism, Natural England, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and major landowners such as United Utilities and National Trust.
The starting point for the plan is the shared vision for 2051, when the national park will be 100 years old and will have been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for more than 30 years.
This shared vision is that in 2051: “The Lake District is deeply valued by the nation as a thriving, working landscape, which is nature and heritage rich, climate resilient, and socially and economically vibrant.”
The nine objectives for the five-year plan include:
- Deliver nature’s recovery
- Improve the conditions of our lakes, rivers and tarns
- Reduce carbon emissions
- Increase the resilience of the landscape to climate change and its carbon storage potential
- Help rural communities to be sustainable and vibrant
- Improve the viability and resilience of farms
- Improve the management of the historic environment
- Inspire people to understand, enjoy and care for the Lake District
- Improve integrated sustainable travel and reduce dependency on private vehicles
In the plan, measures for success outline the targets developed by partners for each objective.
Examples of these targets include:
- Increasing core nature areas from 15 per cent to 30 per cent
- Increasing the number of waterbodies achieving good ecological status to 75 per cent
- Reducing carbon emissions overall by 77 per cent
- Increasing the proportion of visitors whose main mode of getting around the Lake District is sustainable and active by 12 per cent
Dr Celia Caulcott, chair of the plan, said: “The Lake District National Park is one of the most exceptional places in the world, characterised by dramatic lakes and mountains, beautiful valleys, a rich heritage and culture and vibrant, living communities.
“There are millions of visitors and more than 40,000 residents with a deep connection to the place, which is why the importance of this Partnership Plan should not be understated.
“Determining the strategic management of the Lake District over the next five years has been a complex process of detailed discussions and input by partners, stakeholders and the public on a host of topics.
“I am delighted the plan has been adopted by the authority. However, it is essential that we deliver, and the associated action plan sets out how the partnership will transform the intentions of the plan into reality.”
You can read the plan in full on the Lake District National Park Authority website at Partnership Plan – Lake District National Park
