About the Authority
The Authority is a legal entity established by Section 63 of the Environment Act 1995 (opens new website) which receives grant funding from DEFRA to undertake its work. The Lake District was one of the first areas to be designated a National Park in 1951 . Though situated within the county of Cumbria and lying across the boundaries of two unitary authorities, the Authority is the Planning Authority for the area of the National Park.
The Authority was set up with purposes and duties to which it must adhere. The statutory purposes are:
- To conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the Lake District National Park; and
- To promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the National Park by the public.
and in pursuing those purposes the Authority has a duty:
- To seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the National Park by working closely with the agencies and local authorities responsible for these matters.
Organisational strategy
Our Organisational Strategy (PDF) sets out our key priorities, and the values and behaviours we intend to demonstrate.
Our priorities (not shown in any order of importance) are:
- Managing the National Park Authority and its statutory duties
- Nature Recovery
- Communities and Economy
- Viable Traditional and Nature-Friendly Farming
- Historic Environment
- Health and Wellbeing, Inspiration, Responsible Visiting
Corporate plans and performance
The Lake District National Park Partnership’s Management Plan (‘the Partnership Plan’) is the Authority’s statutory Management Plan. It explains how the Authority, together with a collective of key organisations working together as the Lake District National Park Partnership, will manage the Lake District National Park.
Our Business Plan (opens PDF) sets out the key actions we will take to support delivery of the Vision, the Partnership’s Plan, and our Organisational Strategy. It includes key actions to deliver those elements of the Partnership’s Plan that we either lead on or have substantial input to, as well as key actions related to managing the National Park Authority and its statutory duties. All Business Plan actions support either our statutory purposes or wider statutory duties.
To ensure we can deliver our Business Plan, we identify any risks to its delivery, and any wider risks to the Authority. These are then managed to reduce their likelihood and impact. Our key corporate and Business Plan risks are shown in our Risk Register (opens PDF).
The Authority’s performance in delivering its priorities and the outputs for each year is reported to Resources Meeting.
Codes of conduct
We have adopted formal codes of conduct defining standards of personal behaviour for Members and Officers.
We maintain the Governance Committee to raise awareness and take the lead in ensuring high standards of conduct are embedded within the Authority’s culture.
The Authority has put in place arrangements to ensure that Members and Officers of the Authority are not influenced by prejudice, bias or conflicts of interest in dealing with different stakeholders; ensuring that these arrangements are workable by means of the Authority’s Anti-Fraud, Theft and Corruption Policy; Confidential Reporting (Whistleblowing) Policy; Members and Staff Working Together Policy and declaration of interests processes set out in the Member Code of Conduct and Officer Code of Conduct.
How the Authority operates
Schedule 7 of the Environment Act 1995 sets out the status and constitution of National Park Authorities. The Authority must also comply with other legislative provisions and sets out how it operates, how decisions are made, and the procedures it follows in its Core Documents.
The Core Documents are:
- Part A – “Proceedings and Business of the Authority”
- Part B – “Contract Standing Orders”
- Part C – “Financial Standing Orders”
- Part D – “Scheme of Delegation”
The Authority’s Annual Authority Committee meeting is held in June. This meeting deals with administrative matters including –
- Electing a Chair and Deputy Chair;
- Appointing Members to Committees; and
- Appointing Members to Outside Bodies and Partnerships.
The Authority meets as required – usually four times a year – and meetings are usually held at 10am in the Boardroom at the Wayfaring House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL.
Occasionally, an Authority Committee meeting may need to be held to consider matters which require special or urgent consideration. The dates of the meetings are included in our list of committee of meetings.
Learn about the principal functions exercised by the Authority on our Authority Committee page.
Meetings of the Authority’s Committees are open to the public except where personal or confidential matters (known as Part 2 matters) are being discussed. The Authority has established the following Committees. Detailed Terms of Reference of each of the Committees of the Authority can be found in the Authority’s Scheme of Delegation. Below is a brief overview of the areas that each Committee deals with:
To consider planning applications and property control matters including planning enforcement.
To undertake audit activity including the appointment of the Authority’s external auditor; commissioning work from internal and external audit and the consideration of reports from such bodies. In addition this Committee undertakes the role promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by the members of the Authority including the adoption of the Member Code of Conduct and the determination of complaints made against Members.
Considers the formulation of all policies relating to the work of the Authority, making recommendations to the Authority for the adoption of new policies and the review and amendment of existing policies of the Authority. Also the Meeting oversees the Local Plan, the Lake District National Park Partnership Management Plan and the Vision for the Lake District National Park.
The Resources Meeting is responsible for the authority’s capital and revenue budgets and all matters relating to the planning and monitoring of the Authority’s finances, Risk Management, Performance Indicators and Procurement.
Considers and determines all applications for the making of agreements, the making and confirmation of orders and to discharge any other function of the Authority under the Highway Acts.
Authority structure
The Authority has people working for it (known as Officers) to give advice, implement decisions, and manage the day-to-day delivery of its services. Some Officers have specific duties to ensure that the Authority acts within the law and uses its resources wisely. A Code of Practice governs the relationship between Officers and Members of the Authority.
Every local authority must appoint a Head of Paid Service. The Chief Executive is the Head of Paid Service and has the overall corporate management and operational responsibility (including overall management responsibility for all Officers). The Chief Executive also provides professional advice to all parties in the decision making process and together with the Monitoring Officer, has the responsibility for a system of record keeping for all of the Authority’s decisions.
The Head of Resources is the Section 151 Officer for the Authority.
Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972 (opens new website) requires local authorities to make arrangements for the proper administration of their financial affairs and appoint a S151 Officer, also known as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), to have responsibility for those arrangements. As such, the CFO must lead on a local authority’s financial functions and ensure they are fit for purpose. CFOs must be professionally qualified and suitably experienced.
The Director of Sustainable Development has the overall management and operational responsibility for all aspects of the Sustainable Development Directorate and the Lake District National Park Partnership.
Section 5 of the Local Government & Housing Act 1989 (opens new website) provides that it is the duty of every local authority to designate one of their officers as its Monitoring Officer. The Director of Sustainable Development is the Authority’s Monitoring Officer and has three main roles:
- To report on matters they believe are, or are likely to be, illegal or amount to maladministration;
- To be responsible for matters relating to the conduct of Members and officers; and
- To be responsible for the operation of the Authority’s Constitution.
The Monitoring Officer also has significant functions in relation to Members’ and Parish Council Members’ conduct. The Monitoring Officer is the registration officer for the purposes of the Members’ Code of Conduct and supports the work of the Governance Committee.
The Authority’s Organisational Structure can be found on the page below. Full details of the responsibilities of the Senior Officers of the Authority can be found in Part D4 of the Authority’s Scheme of Delegations.
Services we offer
Understand the Authority’s duties as the local planning authority and the various services it offers.
A number of byelaws have been introduced over the years to protect the Lake District National Park. Some are available through the website, others are available in hard copy from the Lake District National Park Authority Headquarters at Murley Moss.
The Lake District National Park is famous for its stunning scenery, abundant wildlife and cultural heritage. The Lake District National Park Authority exists partly to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Park by the public.
In pursuit of this aim, there are informal events for all ages, including workshops on archaeology and history. Additionally, there are more formal educational resources and tutored modules available to both primary and secondary schools. Information on all these activities is held on the website, as well as being publicised through appropriate local media.
The National Park Authority manages a number of car parks and public toilets, as well as a hostel and a camping barn both situated above Glenridding on Ullswater. Short walks (‘Miles without Stiles’) are listed on the website, along with a wealth of information for visitors, whatever their means of transport. The Authority also manages the Coniston Boating Centre, which provides a number of different water-based activities for visitors to enjoy.
Any boat which has an engine – including an outboard motor – must be registered for use on Windermere. You can do this by downloading the online forms, or by applying in person at Ferry Nab on Windermere.
We protect important trees through tree preservation orders, which makes it an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot or wilfully damage or destroy a tree without the Lake District National Park Authority’s permission. You can find out if a tree has a special protection order on it, by searching the online tree search – linked to on ‘Tree and Hedgerow Preservation’.
A number of conservation areas exist throughout the National Park and are legally defined as areas of ‘special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’. The special character relates to the quality and interest of an area as a whole rather than just the individual buildings.
In addition to the information posted on the website, there are numerous paper leaflets, newsletters and booklets available from our Information Centres. Where information about the National Park has been put into the local and national media, copies of the articles are posted onto our website, in the ‘News’ section.
Useful resources
Additional information
This page includes information about the role and structure of the Authority. It does not include information about particular members of staff or other individuals deemed to be personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998 (opens new website).
The Lake District National Park Authority website has information about the organisation itself, the background to the creation of the National Parks, the aims of the Authority and its role within local government in Cumbria.
There are a number of pages and documents which supplement the information on the website. ‘Our vision’ gives an overview of the future direction of the National Park, and combined with the ‘Local Code of Corporate Governance’ and the ‘Lake District National Park Partnership’ provides an excellent view of how we are organised to deliver the strategy.
Every 5 years, the Lake District National Park Authority produces a Management Plan. A three-year cycle for the ‘Business Plan’ provides further details on how the overall Management Plan will be achieved. To supplement this information, a number of corporate publications and plans are listed on the website, including links to the Annual Report Summary and the Annual Report.
The website lists the Committees and shows the diary of meetings for the year. Each Committee has its own section on the website, outlining the scope of its jurisdiction. For each Committee, there is also a section containing agendas, minutes of previous meetings and associated papers.
You can also look at paper copies of Committee agendas and associated papers in the reception area of Murley Moss headquarters.
The website has information about the staff organisation, and the individual profiles of each of the Members.
Visit our contact us page for addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of our various sites.
Contact our planning team for planning enquiries or find more information about planning permissions, applications and guidance on our Planning pages.
Contact information for our rangers and the geographic areas they cover can be found on our Rangers page.
We engage the wider community in our work by encouraging volunteering. Visit our volunteering page to see the types of volunteering opportunities and how to apply for them.
