The Partnership's Plan - Lake District National Park

Our high level paths are fragile with millions of visitors each year contributing to erosion of
vegetation and soil compaction. We need to work hard to maintain them but this provides an
opportunity to engage visitors in understanding the issues and contributing in some way.
Networks of healthy habitats, or green infrastructure, allow species to move more easily and
make the landscape more adaptable to change. This will become increasingly important with
climate change. Well managed peat bogs, for example, are valuable for biodiversity and
absorbing and storing carbon.
The European Habitats Forum, a coalition of conservation networks across the European
Union, has recently asked Heads of Government to commit to a 2020 target for the recovery of
characteristic species and habitats and well-functioning ecosystems. It seeks to achieve
synergies between sustaining biodiversity and mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Ecosystem services are an important reason to protect and enhance species, habitats and
habitat networks. Many businesses, especially the tourism industry, will rely even more on a
high quality environment, and the richness of the natural resource attracts investment into the
area.
There is increasing pressure on land use and uncertainty as to public priorities for the uplands
in the future which make it difficult to know future policy – for example, the potential tensions
between the delivery of ‘food security’ and other environmental services such as water and
carbon. These tensions are most usefully explored with stakeholders as part of a valley
planning process.
We have an opportunity to work with the Government to respond to the recent Commission for
Rural Communities inquiry into the English uplands ‘High Ground, High Potential – a future for
England’s Upland Communities’.
3.15.4 Key partners
Natural England, Lake District National Park Authority, Friends of the Lake District, Cumbria
Wildlife Trust, RSPB, The Environment Agency, United Utilities, the National Trust and the
Forestry Commission and farmers themselves are key partners contributing to the
management of changes which support the success of the conservation, the maintenance of
biodiversity and the development of ecosystem services.
3.16 Cultural heritage and built environment
3.16.1 Facts and challenges
• We believe the historic environment is an asset of enormous cultural, social, economic
and environmental value. It makes a very real contribution to our quality of life and the
quality of our places. Aside from its inherent cultural value, the historic environment
also has an important role to play in helping Government to achieve many of its
broader goals. It can be a powerful driver for economic growth, attracting investment
and tourism, and providing a focus for successful regeneration.
• Over 14,000 individual sites are recorded in the Lake District Historic Environment
Record, of which 275 are designated as Scheduled Monuments, 1,740 Listed
Buildings, nine Registered Parks and Gardens and one is part of Hadrian’s Wall World
Heritage Site. The Government has proposed changes to heritage protection legislation
through a heritage protection reform process.
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