Challenging the Line What can I do if I disagree with the boundary line? Expand Question What can I do if I disagree - or agree - with the boundary line? Answer The line shown on the map attached to this web site is a proposed boundary line which FLD has drawn following the commissioning of its own professional research work which has now been submitted to Natural England, the Government body responsible for protected landscapes. When Natural England decides to progress this matter they will publish a consultation document for public comment. (see Executive Summary – page 7, Designation – The Process). It is at that stage when you may wish to submit your view on the boundary line proposed by Natural England, which may be different to the one proposed by FLD. People may have a number of views on the boundary line as follows: There are 4 options: ✓ Support the boundary line and extensions in their entirety X Oppose the extension in its entirety > Propose a Greater Area for statutory protection < Propose a Reduced Area for designation For each Option you should have regard to the text in FLD’s full report; in particular Part 1 (page 39), Section 1 (Introduction), Section 8 (Legislation), Section 9 (Especially Desirable to Designate), and Section 20 (Benefits of Designation), and Part 2 (page 317) Landscape Analysis. Option 1 – Support the whole extension ✓ You may need to do nothing, but it may be helpful if you wrote to Natural England in support of the proposals. Option 2 - Oppose the extension in its entirety X You will need to explain to Natural England why you feel that the landscape proposed for inclusion into the Lake District National Park does not meet the statutory requirements set out in Section 5 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (see Section 8, para 8.1 of our report). You will have to show that the landscape does not have the ‘natural beauty’ which is a requirement to secure designation, and comment on why you disagree with the professional landscape assessment carried out by Alison Farmer Associates (see Part 2, page 341 – 371). If the landscape is judged by Natural England not to have such natural beauty the proposal would fail. It is not sufficient to say you don’t want the area to be in a National Park for a number of reasons. Your evidence can only relate to why you feel the area does not meet the test of ‘natural beauty’. Option 3 – a greater area to be designated > The provisions of Section 5 of the 1949 Act require an area proposed as an extension to a National Park, when taken with the existing National Park area, “to be an extensive tract of country which by reason of its: Natural beauty, and The opportunities afforded for open-air recreation, It is especially desirable that the necessary measures are taken to so designate. Therefore, to propose an area greater than that proposed by Natural England, it would be necessary to set out clearly to Natural England why you feel that your ‘extended’ area would meet the statutory requirements for designation and be a continuous extensive tract of landscape which would clearly be seen as the Lake District National Park. Not only would the area be required to satisfy the ‘natural beauty’ criterion but you would also have to display how the second criterion would be met, i.e. the opportunities for open-air recreation. You could do this by reviewing the data sets used to come up with the boundary and referred to in the FLD full report, or by arguing along more esoteric lines such as sense of place and tranquillity as to why an area meets the natural beauty test. Option 4 – a reduced area of extension < Again Natural England would want to see how you have approached this and why the landscape you wish to be excluded does not meet the statutory requirements of Section 5 of the 1949 Act. You would need to draw a new boundary line and clearly outline why the area you propose to omit does not meet the natural beauty tests. Just arguing you do not agree or don’t want to be in a National Park is not sufficient, you have to show that the natural beauty is not of sufficient quality to warrant designation. Complete our quick straw poll to register your view. View a summary of all responses to date... Loading…
Why does it cut out Millom? Why not Hodbarrow? Expand To be designated as a National Park an area of land has to meet certain statutory tests relating to the quality of its landscape, cultural heritage and wildlife; and the opportunities it has for recreation. Friends of the Lake District commissioned leading landscape adviser Alison Farmer to conduct an independent assessment of the area and make recommendations as to where she felt potential boundary lines should be. These are considered in our Executive Summary, which has specific sections on the Millom Peninsula and the area around the Duddon Estuary. The area including Millom and Hodbarrow has not been recommended for inclusion and in her report she sets out the detailed reasons for this. If Natural England decide to take the project further, they will have to consult on potential boundary lines and anyone wishing to make amendments to those lines can comment. The ultimate decision on the final line would be down to Natural England and the Secretary of State.
Why is Walney Island not included? Expand To be designated as a National Park an area of land has to meet certain statutory tests relating to the quality of its landscape, cultural heritage and wildlife; and the opportunities it has for recreation. Friends of the Lake District commissioned leading landscape adviser Alison Farmer to conduct an independent assessment of the area and make recommendations as to where she felt potential boundary lines should be. These are considered in our Executive Summary under the Duddon Estuary section. Fuller justifications are in the full report – see page 348 onwards. If Natural England decide to take the project further, they will have to consult on potential boundary lines and anyone wishing to make amendments to those lines can comment. The ultimate decision on the final line would be down to Natural England and the Secretary of State.
Can you own tidal water? Where will it end? Can you just keep claiming land at will? Expand The designation of an area as a National Park has no impact on the question of who owns the land. If an area meets the statutory tests for National Park status, it can potentially be designated. Many National Parks have areas of coastline within them. Natural England guidance states that where a marine boundary line is to be drawn, the boundary should follow the mean low water mark or the county boundary in the case of estuaries. Thinking has also developed to recognise that the setting of a landscape can be integral to its character. Currently the Lake District National Park covers tidal waters off the West Cumbria Coast between Drigg and Silecroft and also at the Kent Estuary crossing to near the shoreline at Arnside, following administrative boundaries, so it is not unusual at all.
Why is the line where it is? Expand To be designated as a National Park an area of land has to meet certain statutory tests relating to the quality of its landscape, cultural heritage and wildlife; and the opportunities it has for recreation. Friends of the Lake District commissioned leading landscape adviser Alison Farmer to conduct an independent assessment of the area and make recommendations as to where she felt potential boundary lines should be. These are considered in our Executive Summary, which considers the area from Silecroft to the Kent Estuary in six sections and for each area she makes recommendations as to which areas meet the tests for National Park status. If Natural England decide to take the project further, they will have to consult on potential boundary lines and anyone wishing to make amendments to those lines can comment. The ultimate decision on the final line would be down to Natural England and the Secretary of State.
Why are you using pictures of areas outside the potential boundary extension? Expand Our reports use some pictures of land and places that are not proposed to be within the boundary extension. This is because we have used them to illustrate the setting of the area, for example the wider estuaries and surrounding land. We feel it is important to show the geographical context of the area to be considered and given that some people have expressed views that the boundary should be wider than currently drawn then the illustrations could prove a useful point of information.
Why has Grange been included and not Ulverston? Expand To be designated as a National Park an area of land has to meet certain statutory tests relating to the quality of its landscape, cultural heritage and wildlife; and the opportunities it has for recreation. Friends of the Lake District commissioned leading landscape adviser Alison Farmer to conduct an independent assessment of the area and make recommendations as to where she felt potential boundary lines should be. These are considered in our Executive Summary under the Furness Peninsula section for Ulverston, and Cartmel and Morecambe Bay for Grange. Fuller justifications are in the full report – see page 354 onwards for the Ulverston area, and page 366 onwards for the Grange area.
Why is Flookburgh and areas to the south outside the proposed boundary? Expand To be designated as a National Park an area of land has to meet certain statutory tests relating to the quality of its landscape, cultural heritage and wildlife; and the opportunities it has for recreation. Friends of the Lake District commissioned leading landscape adviser Alison Farmer to conduct an independent assessment of the area and make recommendations as to where she felt potential boundary lines should be. These are considered in our Executive Summary, which has specific sections on the Cartmel and Morecambe Bay area. Flookburgh has not been recommended for inclusion as she does not consider it meets the natural beauty criterion for designation. The full report sets this out on page 369. However, it is noted that this potentially leaves an isolated area of land on the southern fringes of the peninsula. This relatively small area would not have the benefit of skills and resources a National Park would bring. Natural England guidance does allow for ‘‘wash-over’ to be applied to land even though that land does not itself meet the designation criteria, even close to the boundary of a designated area’. There is some merit in seeking to apply wash-over where in longer distance views the peninsula is seen as a whole and in the context of Morecambe Bay. This will be a decision for Natural England. If they decide to take the project further, they will have to consult on potential boundary lines and anyone wishing to make amendments to those lines can comment. The ultimate decision on the final line would be down to Natural England and the Secretary of State.