Lake District - proposals

Thank you +Littletiger*. Your post has made it a lot clearer to me b

Well said,little tiger. I know Millom, very neglected.

The people saying "oh but if only white affluent able bodied people are going there it must be because they're the only ones who like beautiful scenery and nature" strike me as the kind of people who would object to luxury items in food bank boxes because they think luxury would be wasted on the poor and they only appreciate value brands..

The kind of people who are able to go in half empty cars and pay a premium for accomodation dont really need funding directed to them do they?

So why are they up in arms that it might be directed at someone else?

Unless they like that its prohibitive for people who are different to them?

Good informative post littletiger

Lots of other areas use old rail routes for cycle/wheelchair routes so theyre behind the times if they dont.

The type of visitors they already have are the type who contribute most to congestion: older couples, two people in half empty cars!

The kind of people they need to attract more are the kind of visitors who would come in mini busses or on bikes etc, not each in a car to themselves. If there were changing places and better facilities for bikes and back packers, cheap accomodation for people who would share coaches or minibuses, it would balance out the car tourists, who at the moment make up the bulk of visitors

Anyone who has recently rented a holiday cottage in the uk, particularly in beautiful spots like the Lakes or Cornwall will know how expensive it can be. That in itself rules it out for a significant section of the population, of all ethnicities. Then of course everyone doesn’t enjoy walking/outdoor activities (probably in the rain!) which will discourage another section of society from holidaying there.
I guess the important thing is that everyone feels welcome to go there if the chose to do so. Sadly some folk will feel excluded because they feel they don’t fit in, whether it’s due to disability, ethnicity or financial status. I think it’s important that it’s as easy as possible to include everyone who wants to enjoy the beautiful countryside we have in the UK. A welcoming smile, rather than a scowl or a stare goes a long way. I’ve certainly experienced the latter in some areas of the uk... and I’m white Scottish!

Apparently the Lake District gets more visitors than New Zealand each year . I live here and spend lots of time around wasdale we always meet family’s from lots of different countries. Before we increase visitors we need to put the services in place, a park and ride scheme would help as lots of visitors find our roads a nightmare , maybe more cheap hostels as it’s expensive to stay overnight with good transport links . We do need a green lane system and encourage cycling to get around . Disabled tracks would help we have old railways that could be great off road wheelchair access. I have recently tried to get some interest in a new cycle route from Broughton to Millom and the lady in charge didn’t even return my call , it would have linked in Millom to an excisting route ,this local town has many problems and maybe the national park could look closer to home to help bring in young people . If they had done more to preserve the housing stock instead of making them all holiday accommodation maybe we would have more young people .

All kinds of people love nature. But the reasearch has found that not all kinds of people feel that the lake district is either accessible to them or affordable to them or welcoming to them.

It is not the case that the only people who appreciate nature are white affluent and able bodied. So why arent other peoole going?

And why does the queation get some posters all defensive?

The report is about visitors, not busing in thousands of Syrian refugees to live in the Lake District.

Diversity within a community is good if it is natural and unforced. but you can't make people relocate around the country just because there aren't enough of that colour or religion in any one place.

Nothing of the sort has been suggested
All thats happening is that if a certain pot of funding is to be used in the area, there is a caveat that it is used in ways that are inclusive and appeal to all kinds of people.

They should keep their ‘mitts’ off it, if people don’t want to enjoy it as it is, their loss.

Thats fine, but keeping their "mitts" off it include not giving the area funding towards improving existing infastructure for all

Can't have it both ways!

Please Jennifer expand on what you mean by " diversity nonsense". The head of the Park and his team have discovered an imbalance and wish to redress this, especially as it is funded by tax payers.

Flip that over - why is it a good thing for the research to show that visitors are too heavily weighted towards older, able bodied, white people (to quote the findings in their entirety)?

Another example of the ‘diversity’ nonsense.

Obviously everyone regardless of ethnicity can visit but I really hate the implication that it’s somehow bad if most visitors are white.

More info here www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49599329

It’s all about balance, surely? I imagine that most people living, working and using the area would want to continue to do so, and that any new uses should be sympathetic to the landscape without changing its features and purpose substantially. This might give you an idea of the sort of thing that can happen when a national park starts to become up for grabs - if it’s not done correctly it becomes a corporate free for all which ultimately destroys what’s been loved about the area for hundreds of years www.helensburghadvertiser.co.uk/news/17883933.park-planners-recommend-loch-lomond-plans-rejected/

Let's hope someone actually has the sense to produce the "common sense, better public transport and a campaign to say " Look this is here, it's wonderful and it's for everybody" "

Okey dokey Ted. There is another thread on this somewhere?

I guess I would make attempts to identify which groups are not well represented and then involve them in any plans.

Sometimes all it takes is some common sense, better public transport and a campaign to say " Look this is here, it's wonderful and it's for everybody"

Nobody arguing Inkycog... Just chatting on 'chat' to find out what people think!

Just wondering how YOU would broaden the appeal? How would you make the Lake District more inclusive?

No idea myself, nor anyone on t.v. this morning was the consensus.

Can't be bothered to argue. It's not my quotation. Its from

Richard Leafe, head of the Lake District National Park Authority in Cumbria.

How on earth does broadening the appeal of something equate to doing away with the appeal of something.

Ooooh inkycog. So what does that mean? What Swathes of the population feel excluded from National Parks then?

Disabled? that was acknowledged but even then am not sure exactly HOW you can change something that has been fundamentally been unchanged for millions of years?

Seeking to 'broaden' its appeal must surely mean doing away with the appeal that has been there for centuries?

Do the people of Peru feel they need to alter the steps at Machu Picchu to accommodate EVERYONE? If they did it would completely alter the magic of it. Same as I feel about the Lake District.

"The Lake District is seeking to broaden its appeal, amid concerns that swathes of the population feel excluded from national parks"

There you go, nobody is talking about quotas or moving people from BME communities there. It is an attempt to open up a discussion on how to attract a more diverse range of visitors and reflect all sections of society.

Leave it alone, it is an area of outstanding natural beauty and long shall it remain so!!!!

Agree Elegran but I think they were speaking more about holidaymakers.

And the discussions of theme parks were totally tongue in cheek.

The main question, which nobody has the answer to is "How do we make more coloured people come here?" As they said it is Predominately WHITE?

Well I don't know if that is true or not but....to me THAT is a racist viewpoint? 1) how do they know more whites come than other colours for starters. Has there been a survey on it? If so...WHY? People are people are people - what does it matter what colour/creed/area you are from? Where do these PEOPLE get their stats from exactly??? And WHY? You want to go to Lake District?...great....nobody asks what colour or denomination you are? (Which is why I loved Adil this morning saying much same thing)

UNLESS I am missing something?

If people from other races WANT to move to the Lake District, is anyone DIScouraging them? If not, leave them to make their own choices, without consciously trying to persuade them to follow some kind of quota! Just how many of each colour have the powers-that-be decided is a perfect mix?

Diversity within a community is good if it is natural and unforced. but you can't make people relocate around the country just because there aren't enough of that colour or religion in any one place. How would it seem if the local authority in a remote and historic part of China, say, were to pass a law telling the inhabitants that too many of the population are yellow, and they must implement measures to make the proportion 20% yellow, 20% white, 25% black, 15% brown, 10% red and 10% extraterrestrial green Martians? They would be condemned for it.

As for amusement parks etc - what attracts people to places like the Lake District is the absence of such things. Having them everywhere demolishes the diversity of one place from another, and makes the whole country one great jolly theme park.