The Lake District: Problems and Conflicts

							    The Lake District:
  Problems and Conflicts

    Key conflicts in the Lake
           District:

 Traffic and transport issues,
 Uses of Windermere,
 Ennerdale Forest,
 Footpath Erosion.
“Reducing the numbers of people going
into the hills must never be seen as a
solution. Our need for them is too great.
The challenge,therefore, is to find ways of
enabling people to venture into the hills
without spoiling them”
    Increasing pressures on the Lake
                District
   Visits to the countryside have increased
   Traditional Lakeland industries struggling
    to survive, locals looking for new ways of
    making a living
   Danger that uncontrolled development
    could threaten the natural beauty, wildlife
    and cultural heritage of the area
   The Lake District needs to be carefully
    managed
Look at the groups of people who might be
involved in conflicts in the National Park on p21.

For 15 groups, list why they might be annoyed by
other users, and why they themselves might be
seen as a nuisance.
Traffic Issues
       The Lake District Traffic
        Management Initiative

The Lake District Traffic Management
Initiative (LDTMI) was set up in 1993 as a
partnership       between Cumbria County
Council (CCC), the LDNPA, Cumbria Tourist
Board (CTB) and the            Countryside
Commission (now the Countryside Agency).

The initiative was to run for 3 years, to
„progress the development of solutions to
traffic and transport issues in the National
Park‟.
In 1995 the LDTMI produced a report “Traffic in the
Lake District”and a consultation document “A Road
Classification for the Lake District”.
These outline a revised road classification for the
Lake District defining a purpose for each road in
terms of the type of traffic it carries, the speeds
that are appropriate and the destination served by
each road.
The documents received little support from the local
community, tourism and motoring interests, as many
believed that the ideas would result in restricted
access.
    On the following slide are the LDTMI objectives.
                How could these be met?
   ENABLE LOCAL COMMUNITY TO GO ABOUT
   ITS NORMAL BUSINESS

     MAINTAIN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AND
     ASSIST IT TO BECOME SUSTAINABLE

REDUCE TRAFFIC IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

ENSURE THAT THE NATIONAL PARK REMAINS
ACCESSIBLE FOR QUIET ENJOYMENT

 OFFER ALTERNATIVE MODES OF TRANSPORT
 TO THE CAR

     TAILOR TRAFFIC TO THE ABILITY OF
     THE EXISTING ROADS TO COPE
             Area Action Plans

The Area Action Plans are a series of agreed
local plans, created by the LDTMI, set out the
tourism development and marketing priorities
for 2007-2008.

Each Action Plan seeks to outline the role that
it can play in assisting Cumbria's Destination
Management Plan 2007-2008.
            Keswick Area Action Plan
Keswick, set in the glorious countryside of the
northern half of the Lake District National Park is
a favourite location for millions of visitors a year,
yet the apparent prosperity and well being of this
community masks serious concern on issues such as
the shortage of affordable housing for local
people, a narrow range of employment and low wage
levels, inadequate public transport and car parking,
few facilities for young families and youth and
many others.
   Town centre pedestrianised
   Work has also begun on reducing traffic impact in
    rural areas of the Keswick District.Speed limits in
    Borrowdale and St Johns in the Vale may be
    introduced as long as this does not lead to too
    much sign proliferation.
              Footpath Erosion
Footpath erosion can be defined as “where the
vegetation and soil structure has been lost or
substantially altered due to concentrated people
pressures.”

The Lake District attracts approximately 12
million visitors per year. A survey in 1994 showed
that87% of visitors use the footpaths.The large
number of tourists puts the environment under
great pressure, and footpath erosion can create
huge scars on the landscape.………..
 Use the Footpath Erosion factsheet to answer
 the following questions:

1.   How might winter use of a footpath increase
     erosion?
2.   A seriously eroded footpath is evidence of conflict
     between what two purposes?
3.   Briefly describe the guiding principles of repair and
     maintenance of footpaths in open country.
4.   Why is funding problematic for upland managers?
5.   Why are aggregate paths more desirable than
     pitched paths?
6.   What problems occurred on the Buttermere Ridge
     Walk?
7.   Evaluate the Gamlin End Project – do you think it
     was worthwhile?