Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged an extra 400,000 hectares of English countryside will protected by 2030.

This was his commitment to the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, a virtual United Nations event earlier this week.

Welcoming the PM’s call to “turn words into action”, Douglas Chalmers, Chief Executive of landscape charity Friends of the Lake District said:

“I find the ‘words into action’ statement particularly encouraging, especially as we have already asked the Government agency Natural England to consider extending the boundaries of the Lake District National Park.

“Working closely with the local communities, we commissioned research and a report that we believe justifies extending the Park south of a line between Silecroft and Grange-over-Sands.

“The request was made in Summer 2019, and we look forward to hearing what will be happening in response”.

Friends of the Lake District submitted a formal request to extend the southern boundary of the Lake District National Park to Natural England in June 2019; Natural England is the government agency with the statutory powers to create a National Park or vary its boundary.

The proposed extension would incorporate an area of outstanding landscape in the south of Cumbria, its land and its estuaries, increasing the size of the Lake District by 155 km² increasing its overall area by approximately 6%.  

It incorporates the area between Silecroft and Grange-over-Sands, the Millom, Furness and Cartmel peninsulas and the Duddon, Leven and Kent river estuaries.

The Southern Boundary Partnership was formed to learn more about what being in a National Park would mean for residents and businesses and to help build enthusiasm for this change. A number of public events were held to involve the local community and answer their questions. The Southern Boundary Partnership group, together with Friends of the Lake District also engaged in informal discussions with local politicians of all parties, local government and non-statutory bodies including the NFU, CLA and Cumbria Tourism.

Read more about Friends of the Lake District’s proposal to extend the southern boundary of the Lake District National Park here: https://www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/southern-boundary-extension

Friends of the Lake District submitted a formal request to extend the southern boundary of the Lake District National Park to Natural England (NE) for its consideration in June 2019. Read the report: https://www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/report-submission

For images of the proposed extension area see: https://www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/images-of-the-extension-area