22 April 2024
To celebrate World Heritage day we explore what World Heritage Site status means for our Lake District communities.
World Heritage Site status puts our rural communities on a global map, bringing real pride, lots of benefits, and a few challenges too. This living, breathing landscape needs policies that evolve and adapt to address new challenges and balance the needs of the 41,000-resident community. Here in the Lake District the local community is recognised as being a custodian our World Heritage Site. Working practices of communities have shaped it over the centuries making it the special place that it is.
Examples of communities taking action include community interest companies such as Ullswater Community Interest Company (CIC), created to address the effect of climate change related flood risks. The CIC brings locals, farmers, land managers and flood risk experts together, combining expertise in flood risk with local knowledge of land management.
The popularity of the Lake District means there is high demand for housing. Coupled with a limited supply, this drives prices up. Plus, the loss of housing to second homes and holiday lets can make it difficult for locals to find affordable homes.
The Authority can control and impose conditions on new builds, conversions and subdivisions that require planning consent. This is addressed in housing policy. But we have limited tools to prevent permanent dwellings from being turned into holiday homes. We, with others, are actively seeking measures to discourage this practice, and last year (2022) the matter was raised in Westminster. Without primary legislation, the control of second homes and holiday lets cannot be delivered through the planning system. This continues to be a watchpoint and a legislative solution is being championed by many.
We are also responsible for The Local Plan. This is an important document that’s kept under review and is the beating heart of the planning system. It’s the starting point in deciding planning applications.
The current Local Plan guides decisions on community development in the Lake District National Park up to 2035. Its aim is to enable growth and provide housing and jobs while looking after the special qualities and attributes that make the area a World Heritage Site.
The section dealing with housing says that all new housing is either for local occupancy or affordable housing. The aim is to have 1,200 affordable and local homes by 2035.
And good progress is being made and targets are being exceeded. The other good news is what’s in the pipeline. More affordable new homes are planned at Orrest Head Farm, near Windermere railway station.
Following an extensive consultation process, a Design Code was published in 2023. This will help anyone who is planning or implementing new development from homeowners to developers. It aims to inspire design excellence, through beautiful buildings and places that celebrate and reinforce the unique character, identity, heritage, and culture of the Lake District. It will also promote designs that reduce carbon emissions and enhance biodiversity.
Keswick, in the north of the Lake District World Heritage Site and National Park, gets a boost with the extension of its Conservation Area.
Conservation areas are legally defined as, ‘areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’. It’s about the whole area rather than just individual buildings.
Keswick has medieval origins, and the town is based around a 13th-century street pattern. It’s also home to important buildings and linked to well-known poets and writers. At the same time, it’s recognised that it needs to respond to the changing demands and pressures of daily life.
The Conservation Area designation, and its enlargement, should encourage a response that is well-designed, innovative, contemporary, and sustainable. It will guide new developments that are sensitive to the local character of the area.
Involving the community in the design of waymarkers of the new Keswick to Threlkeld route and making sure that the community were central to the opening event.
Community hubs such as those in Threlkeld and Ennerdale, are helping people appreciate the Outstanding Universal Values of the Lake District World Heritage Site.
Exhibitions and roadshows explored what it means to be a member of a World Heritage Site community, exploring opportunities and responsibilities. Residents and businesses gained an overview of why the area is a World Heritage Site, and why moves to cherish it became the start of a worldwide conservation movement.
Jasmine Holliday, the Lake District National Park’s former Farming Officer said: “Agricultural events are very important to the cultural heritage of the Lake District, they have been going on for hundreds of years. They are an opportunity for the farming community to show livestock ready for the sales in autumn, but they are also important dates on the social calendar. Shows are a great chance to bridge farming and the wider community, showcasing livestock and produce. We sponsor classes that are linked to World Heritage, for example traditional hill sheep breeds, sheep dog trials or shepherds crook class. Small agricultural shows can struggle to keep going without financial support, so I hope our contribution makes a difference."
Useful links
