Plea to drop 'abused' Lake District Unesco world heritage title
A conservationist is campaigning to get the Lake District's world heritage status revoked, claiming too many tourists are damaging the land. Ecologist Lee Schofield, who owns farmland near Haweswater, has written to Unesco saying the area is being "abused" by increased tourism, second-home ownership and unsustainable sheep farming.The area was given the status by the United Nations agency in 2017, with its beauty, thriving farming businesses and inspiration for artists and writers being praised. Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said losing the status would be a "hammer blow" to tourism and farming. Unesco has been approached for comment.
The Lake District was the 31st place in the UK and overseas territories to be put on the heritage list, joining the likes of the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu. About 18 million people visit the area each year, spending a total of £1.2bn and providing about 18,000 jobs.It is home to England's largest natural lake - Windermere - and highest mountain - Scafell Pike.
Mr Schofield said: "Some areas need a rest, maybe for quite a long period of time to allow the habitat to recover again and then it will be able to support more livestock again in the future. "The designation is also really damaging in terms of tourism, it's a much bigger contributor to the rural economy than farming is but it reaches a point when it has a really damaging impact on wildlife and the communities that live in these places."He also said there was a "massive problem" with second-home ownership driving up property prices, meaning locals could not afford to buy homes. Julia Aglionby, professor of protected areas from the University of Cumbria, disputed the claim there was "over-tourism".She said it was important it was managed properly and that was the role of the "hard-working" Lake District National Park Authority.
Hannah Wadsworth, who helps run Lakeland Maze Farm Park, near Kendal, said the status had boosted her business.She said: "The World Heritage Status has been really helpful for us bringing people into the farm park."If it was to go it would be really unfortunate and [we] would really struggle to maintain our livelihood."Other UK Unesco sites include Stonehenge, Durham Castle and Cathedral, and the city of Bath.
Farron said he was against the campaign and that it was a "misguided and poorly judged attack" on hill farmers.He said: "Stripping the Lake District of the status and removing sheep from the fells would be hammer blow for Cumbria's tourism and farming sectors - both of which are utterly vital to our economy. "It would also be damaging to our heritage and diversity."Mr Schofield added: "I'm one of many people who have raised these concerns - this is not a personal campaign, I'm certainly not alone in this."
Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Unclear when Northern's reduced Sunday rail service will end
A rail service says it is unclear when it will stop a reduced Sunday service it has been running since late last year. Northern has been running fewer services in north-west England every Sunday since 22 December 2024, because it has not been able to find enough conductors to work those firm's managing director Tricia Williams told a Transport for the North Meeting on Tuesday the reduced service was "not what we all want" but did offer customers "predictability".Northern said it was still negotiating with National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) over Sunday working. RMT confirmed discussions were ongoing. The firm has previously said the problem it faced on Sundays was it was contractually outside the working week for North West services include routes from Barrow and Windermere to Manchester Airport, and from Barrow to Williams said the reduced service currently relied on volunteers. "The success criteria for us is about achieving a truly seven-day railway," she said. She said the aim for the company was to ensure no more than 2% of services were being cancelled by the end of 2027 and that 90% of trains arrived within three minutes of said it was conducting "detailed discussions with Northern Trains to bring together working practices for conductors from three legacy companies into a single, modern agreement"."The talks aim to ensure consistency, reflect advances in technology, and support reliable services throughout the week", a spokesperson proposals would be subject to government approval, they follows Northern being issued a breach notice by the Department for Transport (DfT) in July 2024 for cancelling too many trains.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Travellers ordered to leave Pulborough caravan site launch appeal
A family of travellers who turned a field in West Sussex into a caravan site have launched an appeal after being told they must Keet laid hardstanding and built waste tanks on land off Stall House Lane, near Pulborough, before installing caravans on 18 were called to intervene after clashes between the travellers and local residents, but no further action was District Council said it already has "a number" of existing traveller and gypsy sites, and that it had rejected retrospective planning from Mr Keets because of potential harm to the area and a nearby listed building. The land is jointly owned by Mr Keet, Tony Castle and William Hughes, and there are currently two static caravans and two touring caravans on moving onto the land, they sought retrospective planning permission for four static caravans and four touring the council has rejected the application "due to concerns that the extent of the development was harmful to the rural character of the countryside location and to the setting of an adjacent listed building".The authority then served an enforcement notice ordering the owners to remove the caravans and return the land to how it was before they moved in within six three landowners have appealed against the order, claiming the site is well screened and not visible from the road or other properties."You'd be chucking me and the kids on the side of the road in a caravan with a generator if I couldn't live here, same for my brother," said Mr Keet. Shortage of traveller sites Elizabeth Pleasant, from the planning inspectorate, heard from residents opposed to the development and council planning officers as well as the travellers, their agent and their Rudd, the barrister for the owners, said they had intentionally developed the land without permission, but said the law allows for retrospective applications and appeals."The impact from this development on the landscape is limited and can be reduced with planning conditions," he Rudd also said there was "significant need" for places for travellers to live.A review carried out for the council last year concluded that 80 pitches for travellers and gypsies should be provided over the next five years and 128 by Mr Castle said the council have "little interest" in finding sites for travellers and gypsies."We're trying to create homes for our community that the local authority is failing to do," he Hughes added: "It's down to us and it's hard to find a site that's not in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a flood zone or a protected area, and if we do find one, developers want it for housing and pay millions."The planning inspector will decide whether to uphold the appeal in about four weeks. The council accepted that there is a need for additional traveller sites, but said: "This application was refused due to concerns that the extent of the development was harmful to the rural character of the countryside location and to the setting an adjacent listed building, and therefore contrary to relevant planning policies.""The council reserves its position on any further planning enforcement action until after the planning inspector's decision is received on both appeals."
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
England stars show ominous signs that some already not buying into Tuchel era
As they were swanning around the grid ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, having settled into their luxury digs in a Girona golf resort, the England football squad did not look like one that was preparing for business. And, emphatically, that proved to be the case. Never mind the stuff about his mum finding some of Jude Bellingham's antics 'repulsive' - we will come on to that later. The most ill-advised comments from Thomas Tuchel over these past few days were the ones that suggested Senegal were far more motivated than an England team which, according to their manager, also did not have the right attitude in the game against Andorra. Tuchel was right on both counts but the buck stops with him. It is his £100,00-a-week job to inspire his players and, quite frankly, most of them looked distinctly uninterested over the course of the two matches. They had a nice holiday at the Formula One and at the Camiral Golf and Wellness resort but that was about it. If there was any sense of players feeling a need to impress the relatively new manager, it was not evident. There is a strong argument that would suggest their indifference to recent international duty was a product of a long, gruelling season. But there is also an argument that would suggest they are not buying into the Tuchel era. Whatever your view on Gareth Southgate, there was a sense of grander purpose about his role - he was interested in the development of English football, its effect on the well-being of the nation, its broader role in society. Tuchel is here for a handy seven and a half million quid over 18 months and a crack at the World Cup. That's it. In an interview with talkSport that drew headlines for other reasons, he spoke of staying beyond World Cup 2026. There is no chance of that. For a start, he already looks bored and there are already glaring signs that another dalliance with an expensive foreign coach is doomed to disappointment. I bet Tuchel cannot wait for three months to pass - England's next game is against mighty Andorra in September - and the chance to expand on his remarks about his mum having the occasional objection to Jude's tantrums. In those remarks is one of the basic difficulties for an imported England coach. Tuchel is clearly a very intelligent guy and a fine linguist. His command of the English language is excellent and, it goes without saying, puts our society's general lack of multilingual skills to shame. But my guess - and I might well be wrong - is that he did not know the harshness of the word 'repulsive'. He probably just means his mum does not like it when such a nice, smiley boy like Bellingham loses his temper. And that is fair enough. In the course of a long interview, he was trying to be a bit different, a bit amusing. But now he has to explain to, arguably, the best player in his squad why he told the world his mother occasionally finds the young man's behaviour 'repulsive'. I'm not sure Tuchel signed up for this. And during that long interview, there was a more significant revelation from Tuchel as he explained one of the reasons for having Jordan Henderson in his squad. 'He pushes the group, he takes care of training, the attitude. He brings players together.' Call me old-fashioned, but isn't that the job of the manager? It is what Southgate appeared to do quite well. Look, we all know the only thing that matters is how England perform at the World Cup finals next summer, assuming they get there. But there are few signs the latest era of the imported England manager is going to be any more exhilarating than the previous ones. Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world's best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13. Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.
