Lake District expansion plans must only go ahead with local support - MP

Local MP Tim Farron says new plans to increase the size of the Lake District National Park by expanding it in south Cumbria should be only allowed with the "proper consent" of local residents.

The proposal, submitted by the charity Friends of the Lake District, would increase the size of the park by around 155 square kilometres by incorporating parts of the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas.

Tim said: "These plans would see the biggest increase in population of the Lake District since the national park was founded back in 1951.

"Being in the national park brings some benefits but it means giving away democratic control of planning, housing and environmental matters to an unelected body.

"It would also very likely see an increase in house prices that could make life even harder for local families already struggling to get on the housing ladder.

"So it would be wrong to go any further with this proposal without proper consultation of people in the Cartmel Peninsula."