Our vision for the Lake District National Park
The vision for the Lake District National Park and World Heritage Site is set out in the Lake District Partnership Plan 2026-2031. The Plan was created by the organisations that make up the Lake District National Park Partnership.
Within the plan is a shared vision for 2051, when the National Park will be 100 years old and will have been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for more than 30 years. This shared vision is that in 2051:
The Lake District is deeply valued by the nation as a thriving, working landscape, which is nature and heritage rich, climate resilient, and socially and economically vibrant.
Our ambitions
The vision is supported by nine ambitions developed by the Lake District National Park Partnership.
Habitats are restored, and species are recovering, enabling nature to flourish in a better-connected landscape.
Water is clean and plentiful for people and nature through restoring natural processes and reducing pollution.
Carbon emissions from human activity are reduced and the Lake District stores more carbon than it emits.
The Lake District is more resilient to the effects of the future climate.
Rural communities are thriving, supported by a diverse economy and regenerative tourism, enabling more people to live and work in the Lake District.
Farming is viable, nature-friendly and delivers quality sustainable produce while maintaining the Lake District’s distinctive agricultural practices.
The distinctive historic environment of the Lake District is conserved and enhanced, ensuring it is better understood and looked after for future generations.
The Lake District is improving people’s wellbeing, and they are inspired to value, look after and enjoy it through living, working and visiting responsibly and sustainably.
Public transport and active travel are the preferred ways of moving around, allowing more people to get where they need to go, when they need to get there, reducing the impacts of private vehicles on the Lake District.
Who is going to make it happen?
Local people, visitors, and the many organisations working in the National Park, or have a contribution to make to it, must be united in achieving this.
The Lake District National Park Partnership developed and agreed the vision – and it is a key force for action.
We nurture the Lake District, our teams and where we work, respectfully managing the Lake District National Park on behalf of those who live, work or visit here.
Our statutory purposes
The National Park has two statutory purposes
- 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.
It also has a duty in pursuing those purposes:
To seek to foster the economic and social wellbeing of local communities within the National Park by working closely with the agencies and local authorities responsible for these matters, but without incurring significant expenditure.
Sandford Principle
Section 11A (1A) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 states that “in exercising or performing any functions in relation to, or so as to affect, land in any National Park in England, a relevant authority… must seek to further the purposes… and if it appears that there is a conflict between those purposes, must attach greater weight to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area comprised in the National Park”.
This is known as the ‘Sandford Principle’ and stems from the Sandford Committee’s recommendation, in 1974, that enjoyment of the National Parks ‘shall be in a manner and by such means as will leave their natural beauty unimpaired for the enjoyment of this and future generations’.
