landscape view of rydal water surrounded by green fields, woodland and fells on a sunny day

Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework

Home Protect Lake District National Park Partnership Partnership Plan Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework

Government have set ambitious outcomes for all protected landscapes to contribute towards three goals from the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.

These are:

Goal 1

Thriving plants and wildlife

Goal 7

Mitigating and adapting to climate change

Goal 10

Enhancing beauty, heritage and engagement with the natural environment

The targets we’ve set for the Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework outline our contribution by defining the outcomes and targets that prioritise action and focus partners’ efforts through the delivery of the Partnership Plan. Ten initial targets were set by Natural England who have worked with us to understand the landscape’s environmental potential. These are relevant to our statutory purposes, take an evidence-led approach, and utilise the best and most up-to-date data that is available for monitoring and reporting.

Three of these targets were apportioned to our landscape. Two already feature in the current Lake District National Park Partnership (LDNPP) Plan targets and align with the apportionment proposed by Natural England. These are:

peat restoration (target 7)
tree and woodland establishment (target 8)

The creation of wildlife rich habitat outside of protected sites (target 1) is not in the current LDNPP Plan monitoring framework. As such, it will be added for the remainder of the Plan period 2020 – 2025. All targets will be included in the Partnership Plan Review to prepare for the new Partnership Plan 2026 – 2031.

Apportionment Target	Apportioned target from Natural England for the LDNP	Provisional target for LDNPP Plan 2020 – 2025	Progress for Plan targets 2026 – 2031
Apportionment Target Target 1 Restore or create more than 250,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats within Protected Landscapes, outside protected sites by 2042 (from a 2022 baseline)	Apportioned target from Natural England for the LDNP 932.34 ha per year (18,646.84 ha by 2042)	Provisional target for LDNPP Plan 2020 – 2025 This a new target, progress so far indicates: 212 ha per year	Progress for Plan targets 2026 – 2031 We are working with agri-environment scheme agreement data from Natural England, to provide a possible indicator for the area of grassland habitat restored and created on an annual basis. This will help us assess how achievable the apportionment target is. Action delivering targets 7 and 8 can contribute to target 1
Apportionment Target Target 7 Restore approximately 130,000 hectares of peat in Protected Landscapes by 2050	Apportioned target from Natural England for the LDNP 468.68 ha per year (13,123.04 ha by 2050)	Provisional target for LDNPP Plan 2020 – 2025 Currently agreed (Lake District Nature Recovery Plan) with Cumbria Peat Partnership to retain current target of: 500 ha per year	Progress for Plan targets 2026 – 2031 The current peat restoration pipeline is for 5562 ha up to 2035 and provides sufficient capacity for retaining the 500 ha per year target until then
Apportionment Target Target 8 Increase tree canopy and woodland cover (combined) by 3% of total land area in Protected Landscapes by 2050 (from 2022 baseline)	Apportioned target from Natural England for the LDNP 252.95 ha per year (7082.62 ha by 2050)	Provisional target for LDNPP Plan 2020 – 2025 Currently agreed (Lake District Nature Recovery Plan) high target set at: 250 ha per year	Progress for Plan targets 2026 – 2031 This is aligned with Forestry Commission opportunity mapping on which the LDNPP Nature Recovery Plan is based, and well within the woodland creation opportunity identified as part of the Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Apportionment Target

Apportioned target from Natural England for the LDNP

Provisional target for LDNPP Plan 2020 – 2025

Progress for Plan targets 2026 – 2031

Target 1 Restore or create more than 250,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats within Protected Landscapes, outside protected sites by 2042 (from a 2022 baseline)

932.34 ha per year

(18,646.84 ha by 2042)

This a new target, progress so far indicates:

212 ha per year

We are working with agri-environment scheme agreement data from Natural England, to provide a possible indicator for the area of grassland habitat restored and created on an annual basis. This will help us assess how achievable the apportionment target is.

Action delivering targets 7 and 8 can contribute to target 1

Target 7 Restore approximately 130,000 hectares of peat in Protected Landscapes by 2050

468.68 ha per year

(13,123.04 ha by 2050)

Currently agreed (Lake District Nature Recovery Plan) with Cumbria Peat Partnership to retain current target of:

500 ha per year

The current peat restoration pipeline is for 5562 ha up to 2035 and provides sufficient capacity for retaining the 500 ha per year target until then

Target 8 Increase tree canopy and woodland cover (combined) by 3% of total land area in Protected Landscapes by 2050 (from 2022 baseline)

252.95 ha per year

(7082.62 ha by 2050)

Currently agreed (Lake District Nature Recovery Plan) high target set at:

250 ha per year

This is aligned with Forestry Commission opportunity mapping on which the LDNPP Nature Recovery Plan is based, and well within the woodland creation opportunity identified as part of the Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework

More information

Partnership Plan

Statement of Outstanding Universal Value

Attributes of Outstanding Universal Value

The Lake District National Park Authority connects communities, visitors, partners, businesses and specialists to help promote understanding and enjoyment of this treasured landscape, while conserving its future for everyone.