responding to climate change in the national parkit puts forward an agenda for a low-carbon lake...

Low-carbon Lake District:Responding to climate change in the National Park

June 2008

Report by Rebecca Willis

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Contents

Foreword 03

About the author 03

Introduction 04

About the project 05

What climate future? 06

Changes to the global climate 06Impacts on the Lake District 07Langdale Hotel and Timeshare - case study 08Wider consequences of climate change 09Towards a low-carbon society 10Biomass in Eskdale - case study 11The case for action 12

The scorecard: How well is the Lake District doing? 13

Greenhouse gases: the figures 14What the Lake District is doing well 15- Eco-communities 15Esthwaite Green Link - case study 16- Green business 17- Environmental educator 17- An emerging dialogue 17Outward Bound Ullswater - case study 18Room for improvement 19- No sense of direction 19- Growth first? 20Sundog Energy - case study 21- Roads to nowhere 22Mark Brierley, Cycling Development Officer for Cumbria County Council - case study 23- Conservation or climate? 24Foulshaw Moss nature reserve, Cumbria Wildlife Trust - case study 25

Towards a low-carbon Lake District 26

Community energy solutions 27A sustainable transport strategy 28University of Cumbria - case study 29A green business hub 30An environmental enabler 31Rod Hughes, architect, ad.hoc associates - case study 32Holidays at home 33Elder Grove bed and breakfast, Ambleside - case study 34Evolving landscapes 35

Footnotes 36

Annexes 38

List of case studies 38List of interviewees 38Sources of advice and support 39Photography credits 39

Climate change is happening. It always has.But man’s influence isaccelerating its impact.The effects on the LakeDistrict, its people and its economy could be far-reaching and damaging.There might be benefitstoo, but they are not so clear.

Put simply, the Lake District is tooimportant to too many people to sitback and react to these changes. If weare to achieve our Vision of the LakeDistrict as an inspirational example ofsustainable development in action weneed concerted and positive effort. If weare to generate a prosperous economy,sustain vibrant communities, offer world-class visitor experiences and in so doing,cherish our spectacular landscape, weneed to be resolute and ambitious. TheLake District National Park Authority isdetermined to lead the way.

Locally we are working with the CumbriaStrategic Partnership and the LakeDistrict National Park Partnership.Regionally, we work with the North WestDevelopment Agency and nationally withGovernment and other National ParkAuthorities. We want to help galvaniseand channel the energy, resources andsheer commitment of many partnerorganisations as well as local residentsand businesses to deliver a low-carbonLake District.

Rebecca Willis is an independentresearcher and Vice-Chair of the UKSustainable Development Commission.Her work focuses on environmental politics and policymaking at both anational and regional level. She hasresearched and written on issues suchas climate change, energy policy, publicattitudes to the environment and theimpact of new technologies.

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Foreword About the author

If we are to shape policies, messagesand an action agenda for climate changemanagement, we need facts; we needan idea of what Cumbria’s movers andshakers are thinking and doing; and weneed inspiration from the best of local,regional and national experience. Muchgood practice is already evident in theLake District. This report amply demonstrates that. But we know wecan learn from experience further afield.

Rebecca Willis’s report marks the beginning of a journey for the LakeDistrict; one where those that careabout and are shaping its future canembark on the journey together.Between us we will find ways that helpthe Lake District, its communities, visitors and its businesses both adapt toclimate change and mitigate its effects.

If we’re really ambitious we should aim togo beyond low-carbon to a zero-carbonLake District. But how long will thattake? Can we at least agree to halve our carbon emissions by 2025?

We have a challenging route map to follow. Let’s get moving.

Richard Leafe Chief ExecutiveLake District National Park Authority

Front Cover Image:

Derwent Isle, Derwentwater by Si Homfray

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Introduction

Deep in a Lakeland valley, next to thehamlet of Elterwater, is the LangdaleHotel and Timeshare, a luxury hotel andholiday complex with breathtaking viewsover the fells. The successful businessowes its existence to its spectacularsurroundings. But it is not taking itsenvironment for granted. It has taken along hard look at its environmental performance, reducing energy use,installing a biomass boiler and lookinginto reinstating the water wheels thatonce powered the valley. Elsewhere,above Ullswater, Sundog Energy providessolar and wind energy installations forclients nationwide. Just below them, on the shores of the lake, the OutwardBound centre has created a new currency for some of its students: eco-points. Points can be earnedthrough litter picking and other green

jobs, and are spent on using the centre’sminibus, giving students a practical lessonabout the cost of carbon. LangdaleHotel and Timeshare, Sundog andOutward Bound are among the growingnumber of organisations who haverealised that their future will be shaped,in part, by climate change, and the needto respond to the challenges it poses.

The Lake District has iconic status. Itsdramatic landscape has always provokedstrong reactions - from Daniel Defoe’sdescription of the land as “the wildest,most barren and most frightful of anythat I have passed over in England” toWilliam Wordsworth’s more complimentaryassessment: “I do not indeed know anytract of country in which, within so narrow a compass, may be found anequal variety in the influences of light

Below:

Fells and tarn

and shadow, upon the sublime or beautiful features of landscape”. The importance of the Lakes in the literary and philosophical imagination ofEngland was a central reason why itwas designated as one of the country’sfirst National Parks, in 1951.

Since the earliest times, the LakeDistrict has been shaped by the interaction between people andlandscape. From Neolithic settlers whomined for stone, to today’s farmingcommunity, people have used the landand, in doing so, have shaped andbeen shaped by it. In contrast to somenational parks overseas, it is not a truewilderness. But recent years have seenthe beginning of a new, and very different influence on the Lakes: theeffects of climate change.

This report assesses the impact of climate change on the Lake District. It looks first at the physical effects of climate change, and the likely impactson the society and economy of theLakes. It then asks what is alreadybeing done to tackle the problem, andreduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Lastly, it puts forward an agenda for a low-carbon Lake District - offering somerecommendations for tackling climate change.

In 2006, the Lake District National ParkPartnership, a grouping of organisationswith a stake in the National Park, drew up a vision for 2030, envisaging a Lake District with “a prosperouseconomy, vibrant communities andworld-class visitor experiences - and all sustaining the spectacularlandscape, wildlife and cultural heritage.”

This report shows how tackling climatechange could help the Lake District to achieve the aims and vision it has set itself.

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About the project

Below:

Fields and fells

Quarry

“a prosperous economy,vibrant communities and world-class visitorexperiences - and all sustaining the spectacularlandscape, wildlife andcultural heritage.”

Research for this report was carriedout over a period of eight months, andinvolved desk research, interviews with31 people representing organisationswith a stake in the National Park (listedat Annex 2), and field visits to ten casestudies – organisations within theNational Park who are already takingaction on climate change. The casestudies were selected to reflect a rangeof private, public and voluntary sectorinitiatives; types of project; and location.The case studies are presented inboxes throughout the report, and listedat Annex 1.

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Changes tothe GlobalClimate

In February last year, theIntergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) issued its starkest warning yet. Its latest assessment, whichdrew on the expertise of 600 authors,620 expert reviewers and representativesfrom 113 countries, states that averagetemperatures are likely to rise by fourdegrees centigrade towards the end ofthe century. The Panel concluded, with a very high degree of confidence, thattemperature rises were the direct resultof human action, through emission ofcarbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxideand other greenhouse gases. The latestscientific evidence assessed by the Panelshowed that climate change will be moresevere than previously thought, and itsimpacts will be felt across the globe.1

Temperature rises lead to profoundchanges to the Earth’s climate system.As the earth warms, the water cycleintensifies, increasing the risk of bothdrought and floods. Data for the UK showsan increase in heavy rain and flooding inwinter, such as the January 2005 floodswhich hit Carlisle; and a decrease insummer.2 Worldwide, the fraction of landarea in extreme drought is expected toincrease from 1% to 30% by the end ofthis century.3 As global temperaturesincrease, there is a greater risk of abruptand large-scale changes in the climatesystem. For example, the Gulf Streamand North Atlantic drift, which have asignificant warming effect on Europe’s climate, may be weakened. Sea levels,already rising by 3mm a year, could beincreased considerably if the WestAtlantic Ice Sheet collapses.4

Some changes caused by global warmingwill themselves amplify climate change.For example, thawing permafrost anddrying of wetland areas, due to increasedtemperatures, releases methane andcarbon dioxide, further contributing to climate change. The amount of carbondioxide absorbed by the oceans is likelyto decrease as temperatures rise.5 Theseamplification effects mean that changesmay not be linear and gradual, but sudden and unpredictable.

Climate change will impact most severelyon the developing world. This is partlybecause greater natural changes willoccur in these areas - including drought,sea-level rise and reduced agriculturalproduction; and partly because, beingpoorer, developing countries have fewerresources available to fund climatechange adaptation. The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, a report commissioned by governmentand published in 2007, states thatThe poorest will be hit earliest and mostseverely. In many developing countries,even small amounts of warming will leadto declines in agricultural productionbecause crops are already close to critical temperature thresholds. Thehuman consequences will be most serious and widespread in Sub-SaharanAfrica, where millions more will die frommalnutrition, diarrhoea, malaria anddengue fever, unless effective controlmeasures are in place.6

Although the developing world will beworst hit, all regions and countries willfeel the effects of climate change. As scientific understanding grows, the impacts on specific areas can bepredicted with greater clarity.

Colin Nineham, a Penrith resident andlocal councillor, remembers the cold,snowy winters of his childhood, and theski lifts that used to run in Troutbeck, nearWindermere, to allow people to ski thefells. He, like many others, has noticed achange in weather patterns over the lastfew decades, with warmer, wetter wintersand hotter, drier summers. He misses theskiing – but also worries about the moreprofound changes to the Lakeland climate that are beginning to take effect.

There is a strong scientific consensusthat the global climate is changing, as aresult of human action - specifically, theemission of carbon dioxide and other‘greenhouse gases’ which interfere withthe planet’s natural heating and coolingprocesses. The effects of climate changewill be felt across the globe, though someregions will be worse affected than others.Temperature rises lead to disruption inthe water cycle, changes to habitats,and to agriculture.

What Climate future?

Above:

Skiing on Skiddaw


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Like the rest of the UK, the Lake Districtis already experiencing warmer, wetterwinters and hotter, drier summers, as a result of climate change. Over theyears ahead, more profound changes in landscape and biodiversity areexpected. A study by Natural Englandidentifies a range of impacts, including:7

Species loss: Arctic-alpine species,including plants such as the stiff sedgeand mossy campion, and the mountainringlet butterfly, are rare as far south asEngland. Temperature rises, andchanges to habitat, could lead to theirlocal extinction. The Arctic charr, a cold-water loving fish which has lived inWindermere and other lakes since theice-age, could disappear, as water temperature increases and oxygen levels in the lakes change. Numbers ofupland birds will decline, but lowlandheath birds may increase.

Migration upward: Increases in temperature will force habitats to moveupwards. Upland landscapes will besqueezed into smaller areas on higherslopes, and could be more vulnerableas a result.

Increase in non-native species:As weather conditions change, thiscould lead to more invasive and non-native species such as pygmyweed in wetland habitats, Himalayanbalsam and Japanese knotweed.Another unwelcome arrival could beBluetongue disease in cattle, which is aspread by a species of midge and wasseen for the first time in Britain in 2007.

Changes to lakes: There will be adecrease in water levels in summer,which will affect smaller lakes and tarnsin particular. Water quality will decrease

as pollutants become more concentrated.Erosion caused by heavy rainfall willincrease siltation, and algal blooms willbe more common, affecting recreationaluse. Midges may become more of aproblem near lakes.

Changes to woodlands: Woodlandswill suffer more storm damage, andtrees could suffer from summerdrought. Woodland composition willalso change, as some species willadapt better than others.

Drying out of peat: Peat habitats lockcarbon into the soil. Peatlands are thesingle largest carbon reserve in the UK,storing around 3 billion tonnes of carbon,the equivalent of 20 years of UK carbonemissions.8 There are significant peathabitats in the Lakes, both upland andlowland. (One example, FoulshawMoss, is described on page 25).However, hot, dry summers couldcause peat habitats to dry out, releasingcarbon into the atmosphere. Footpatherosion caused by high numbers of visitors contributes to this problem.9

Greater risk of extreme weatherevents: In common with the rest ofBritain, the Lake District will experiencemore storms, high winds, flooding,drought and forest fires.

Some of these impacts, like lower waterlevels and algal blooms in lakes, andstorm damage to woodlands, couldresult in immediate changes, affectingboth visitors and residents. Otherimpacts, like changes to species andhabitats, will be more gradual and subtle. Overall, however, the cumulativeeffect of all the changes could alter the look and feel of the Lake Districtconsiderably.

Above:

Arctic charr

Japanese knotweed

Storm damage

Impacts on the Lake District

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Diners at the Langdale Hotel andTimeshare will be pleased to know thatthe carbon cost of their meal has justgone down. The chef has recently takendelivery of a new oven, which will runon locally-sourced charcoal. This is justthe latest in a series of green innovationsat Langdale. Four years ago, the ownersand managers of the hotel and leisurecomplex decided that they needed totake action to reduce the impact of theiroperation. Several years, and severalawards, later, they have an impressiveprogramme in place: as well as thecharcoal oven, there’s an energy management system; environmentaltraining and support for staff; and acomprehensive waste minimisation andrecycling programme. Halving the amountof waste produced by the site hasresulted in savings of around £10,000.

A recent refurbishment gave the hotel achance to install low-energy light fittingsand extra insulation – as GeneralManager Nick Lancaster says,“we try tomake small, incremental improvementsas well as very grand ones”.

On the list of grand improvements, thehotel will shortly be installing a wood-fired boiler, which will provide twenty per cent of the site’s energy needs.They estimate that it will pay back within three years. The wood will besupplied from local sources, to minimisetransport emissions. It has been a complicated project – it has taken themfour years to get to this stage. But theyare hoping to generate more energy onsite in future – perhaps hydro power.The site used to house a gunpowderfactory, powered by water, and the oldmillrace is still turning – there’s a chanceit could be re-used to generate powerin future.

Next on the list, Langdale will begin acomprehensive carbon footprintingprocess, to develop a better understanding of where their mainimpacts are. This will be used to prioritise future carbon-saving efforts.One more intransigent problem, though,is transport – in a valley poorly servedby public transport, there are few realalternatives: “realistically, it’s the car thatbrings them here and it will take morethan us to change that.”

To begin with, the company didn’t really talk about what it was doing to its customers. But they are beginning to market it a bit more, and believe itcould be a key selling point. As Nicksays, “it’s the right thing to do if we’reto have a sustainable business that’sdependent on the landscape”.

What has helped?

The company has received help andadvice from CBEN10 , the Tourism andConservation Partnership, CumbriaWoodlands and the Carbon Trust.Rising fuel costs have helped to makeenergy efficiency and on-site generationmore cost competitive.

What has hindered?

Nick is frustrated that there is nonationally recognised award for ‘green’hotels. There is a range of differentschemes, which is confusing for thecustomer. It has also been difficult andcomplicated to get information abouton-site generation.

LangdaleHotel andTimeshare

CaseStudy

Above:

Recycling

Charcoal oven

“we try to make small, incremental improvementsas well as very grand ones”.


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Wider consequences of climate change

Climate change will bring otherchanges to the Lake District too, ascommunities elsewhere adapt. TheStern Review predicts a number ofchanges to the climate of the UK andelsewhere, which could in turn affectthe Lake District11:

More demand for water: as wateravailability is increasingly constrained,particularly in the south-east of Englandwhere demand is highest, there will bemore demand for water from elsewhere,including Cumbria. Reservoirs in theNational Park, like Thirlmere, may beemptier, which will affect the landscape.

Changing agricultural practices:Climate change will alter the way thatfarmers manage land. They may switchto more drought-tolerant plants or convert grazing land to arable.12

According to Natural England,“changes in agricultural practices as aresult of climate change may have agreater impact on biodiversity thandirect biophysical impacts.”13

Tourism shifting northwards: withwarmer regions like Southern Europesuffering increased heat wave frequencyand reduced water availability, tourismin more northerly areas of Europe,including the UK, is likely to increase. If managed well, this could bring economic advantages. But there will bea risk to habitats on land and in water.For example, ground-nesting birds maybe affected by an increase in visitors inspring and autumn, and footpath erosion may worsen.14

Migration: The effects of climatechange on temperate regions like the UK will be relatively mild, possiblyprompting migration from more seriously affected areas. Globally, some estimates suggest that up to 200 million people may become permanently displaced by the middle of the century.15 Within the UK, those living in coastal and low-lying areas,including London, will be more vulnerable to floods and sea-level rise,possibly leading to internal migration toareas of the country less affected,including Cumbria.

Global economic impacts: The SternReview warns of economic instabilitycaused by climate change: “large-scaleshocks and financial contagion originating from poorer countries whichare more vulnerable to climate changewill also pose growing risks for richcountries, with increasing pressures for large-scale migration and political instability.”16

In assessing these impacts, the SternReview estimates that the costs of climate change, if no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,could be between 5 and 20% of globaleconomic output (Gross DomesticProduct). In contrast, stabilising emissions at manageable levels wouldcost around 1% of GDP.

Above:

Bowness floods

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Towards a low-carbonsociety

As the UK and other countries begin to take steps to reduce greenhousegases, particularly carbon dioxide, this, in turn, will alter the Lake District’sfuture. Some changes may benefit the Lakes; others will prove challenging.Changes will include:

A focus on energy efficiency:As energy prices rise, due to decreasingglobal supply, and as a result of climatechange policies, there will be morefocus on encouraging energy efficiencyin transport, buildings, products andindustrial processes. For example, government has pledged that all newhomes will be carbon-neutral by 2016.Energy efficiency improvements remainthe cheapest option for carbon reduction.

More renewable energy and nuclearpower: The UK is committed to a binding EU target to obtain 20% ofEurope’s energy (electricity, heat andtransport) from renewable sources by2020. The main sources are likely to be onshore and offshore wind, solar, hydro and biomass. Although large-scale renewables developments are not permitted within the National Park,there will be more small-scale renewables(see below) as well as large-scaledevelopments elsewhere in Cumbria,and offshore. The government is supporting a new generation of nuclearpower stations, one of which could besited near the National Park, on theWest Cumbrian Coast.

More distributed energy: Carbonemissions can be reduced by producingelectricity and heat near to where it isused. As well as small-scale renewables,community heating (where a number of buildings are linked through a heatnetwork) or combined heat-and-power(where electricity is generated, and thewaste heat is used in nearby buildings)are all likely to increase.

Carbon pricing: To facilitate shifts towardgreater energy efficiency and use ofrenewable energy, there will be a shifttoward pricing and trading carbon. Thisalready happens through the EuropeanEmissions Trading Scheme, affectinglarge energy users; other businesses andeven individuals could be involved in carbon trading in the future.

Low-carbon transport: Transport currently accounts for over a quarter oftotal UK carbon emissions, and is thefastest growing source of emissions. To tackle this, government aims toincrease the fuel efficiency of vehiclesand encourage walking, cycling, publictransport and car sharing. Over timethere may be a move toward nationalroad pricing. The expansion of air travelcould also be curtailed. Alternatives totravel, such as home working and videoconferencing, are likely to increase.

Making green choices: Recent yearshave seen a growing awareness of climate change, and consumers arestarting to choose products and serviceson the basis of their environmental performance. In consumer-focusedsectors like retail and tourism, businesses who take action on climatechange will benefit from this.Businesses, too, are starting to askquestions of their supply chain.

Green jobs: the move to a low-carboneconomy will bring with it a change inemployment patterns, with more ‘greenjobs’ created, in areas such as energyservices, insulation, plumbing, recycling,installation of renewable energy systemsand low-carbon technologies.

Above:

Transport accounts for over a quarter of the UK carbon emissions

Sundog Energy, more ‘green jobs’ created

When foot and mouth hit Eskdale in2001, the loss of farming and tourismincome was devastating, and the localvicar established a community group todiscuss the future of the valley. Theytalked to Gareth Browning from theForestry Commission – and hit upon theidea of generating energy from wood.

Heating has always been a majorexpense for Eskdale households andbusinesses. With no connection to thegas grid, oil is the main source of energy.But there is plenty of wood about. So using biomass energy would savemoney as well as carbon. Members ofthe group, including Tony Fox and CeliaMacKenzie, sought the advice of theCLAREN project, which offered help tocommunities wanting to look into generating their own power. (CLAREN’s funding has since come toan end, so it is no longer operational).

They decided to raise funds for threepilot projects, sourcing woodfuel fromlocal Forestry Commission resources.As Celia explains, they wanted “to lookat how effective biomass is in differentcircumstances”, and planned installationsfor the village school, the Youth Hosteland a group of private houses. Interestgenerated locally by the pilot projectshas resulted in Impact HousingAssociation planning a communityheating scheme in the centre ofEskdale Green.

The log-burning boiler in the school hasnow been operating successfully for ayear, and reducing carbon dioxideemissions by 12 tonnes annually.

The Youth Hostel woodchip boiler andfuel store has taken longer, but is nowalmost complete. Arranging funding forthe private housing micronet has beendifficult, and this installation has notbegun yet.

An associated community-owned company, West Cumbria Wood ProductsLtd, provides the fuel for and operatesthe boilers, and could ultimately serve domestic and business users throughout West Cumbria. As Tonysays, “through this project, we could create local employment, retain forestryskills, and improve the look and value of the forest.”

The challenge now is to reach a criticalmass of biomass installations, so thenew company can benefit fromeconomies of scale, and create a viablebusiness. Although wood is a cheaperfuel than oil, upfront costs are higher, as Celia explains: “the kit is expensivecompared to an oil boiler. People wouldlike to do their bit for renewable energybut will look at the cost. There’s a needfor funding to overcome this gap.” So far, funding has been difficult toaccess, particularly as the project isquite small-scale. This frustrates Celia,who sees large sums of money beingpoured into big, flagship regenerationprojects. She says there’s a “severelack of understanding about how muchpeople want to do themselves” andthat much more support is needed forcommunities with the ideas and commitment to act on climate change.Tony, meanwhile, is constantly thinkingabout the scheme’s future developmentbut also needs to spend time just keeping the current system going: “I’ve got a vision but I’m still getting upat 5.30am to light the school boiler.”

What has helped

The biomass project in Eskdale has had valuable support and advice fromCLAREN, the LDNPA’s sustainabledevelopment fund and CumbriaWoodlands, and has been helped bythe commitment and enthusiasm oflocal people.

What has hindered

Funding, particularly from national government sources, has been difficultand bureaucratic to access. In particular,it is difficult to get material grants forprivate household installations. Thedemise of CLAREN means there is nolonger a source of independent advicefor similar projects.

Biomassin Eskdale

CaseStudy

Above:

Eskdale YHA Hardware


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“through this project, we could create local employment, retain forestryskills, and improve the lookand value of the forest.”

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The case for action

The Lake District could stand to gainfrom some of these trends – such asthe move toward more decentralisedenergy generation, and greener products and services. A new study on the economic impacts of climatechange legislation for Cumbria17

estimates that, with the right supportand encouragement, the county as awhole could benefit from moves to cutcarbon. While all businesses will haveto adapt to higher prices for carbon,the overall impact is likely to be positive, with the potential for around1500 new jobs in the sustainable energy and tourism sectors. The studypoints to a number of areas thatshould be supported, because of thepotential for combined economic,social and environmental gain:

- The biomass and biogas supplychain, making use of the woodresources from forestry operations, to be used for heating in propertiesnot on the gas grid. Several hundredjobs could be created in forestry, fuelpreparation, equipment supply, installation and maintenance. Farmbiogas systems, using anaerobicdigestion, could also play a part.

- The sustainable energy supply chain,working with the microgenerationequipment installers already operatingin Cumbria to develop small-scalerenewable installations, and developingbusinesses in the energy efficiencysector, for homes and businesses; as well as low-carbon building construction and refurbishment.

- Marketing Cumbria as a green tourismdestination, advising firms in this sectorhow to reduce carbon emissions andworking on transport infrastructure.

These opportunities and their relevanceto the National Park in particular, arediscussed in the final chapter.

Right:

People getting aboard the Windermere train

The Scorecard: How well is the Lake District doing?

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Right:

Local produce

The science is clear: in the UK, weneed to reduce emissions of carbonand other greenhouse gases by 80%over the next forty years.18 The ClimateBill, currently before Parliament, willshortly set binding limits on carbondioxide emissions by setting five-yearly‘carbon budgets’ for the UK as awhole, with around a 30% reduction by 2020. This means that each regionof the UK will need to achieve substantialreductions in emissions.

The Scorecard:How well is the Lake District doing?

So what contribution can the LakeDistrict National Park make? This chapterreviews, firstly, how well Cumbria andthe North West are doing in terms ofactual emissions reductions and estimateswhat this means for the National Park.Second, it looks at efforts being madeto reduce carbon and other greenhousegases within the National Park; it thenturns to areas of weakness, wheremore needs to be done.

Greenhouse gases:the figures

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Though the figures for Cumbria offer an approximate picture, the precise situation of the National Park is different.Key differences include: fewer emissionsfrom industry; increased emissions due to the high number of visitors tothe National Park (from the hospitality sector, and transport); and higher emissions from car travel due to thesparse population and limited publictransport. Though no specific data isyet available, this estimate suggeststhat the greenhouse gas emissions of the National Park, per head of population, will be higher than forCumbria as a whole. This gives theNational Park a clear responsibility toaddress its climate impact.

While UK emissions as a whole are static or falling slightly,19 a study of greenhouse gas emissions in the NorthWest20 last year reported that the regionas a whole is not on track to meetnational targets. Emissions are, in fact,rising instead of falling – they haveincreased 13% since 1990, across theNorth West region as a whole.

The study does not give data for theNational Park itself, but the data forCumbria offers a reasonable proxy.21

Cumbria has high emissions per head of population – around 16 tonnes, compared to 7 tonnes for GreaterManchester.22 This is partly due to

Cumbria’s more dispersed population,and to high levels of road transport.23

The transport and energy use of the 12 million visitors to the Lake Districtincreases overall emissions considerably– by around 7%, according to one estimate.24 Cumbria also has higher levels of other greenhouse gas emissions– 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions (by ‘global warming potential’or GWP25) are made up of gases otherthan carbon dioxide – mainly methaneand nitrous oxide, emitted from agriculture and natural sources.

Above:

Friars Crag, Derwentwater

The Lake District’s currentstrengths in this area include:active green communitygroups; a vibrant greenbusiness sector; a focuson environmental educationthrough outdoor activity;and an emerging partnership on climatechange between publicagencies and the privateand voluntary sector.


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What the Lake District is doing well

The evidence shows that greenhousegas emissions are rising, rather thanfalling, within the National Park.However, there are many individualsand organisations across the LakeDistrict who are taking action on climatechange, and working to reduce futureemissions. The Lake District’s currentstrengths in this area include:activegreen community groups; a vibrantgreen business sector; a focus on environmental education through outdoor activity; and an emerging partnership on climate change betweenpublic agencies and the private and voluntary sector.

Eco-communitiesPaul Milling is amused at the Daily Mail’snew campaign against plastic bags,and the reusable bag fervour that hasswept the nation in recent months. His small community in and aroundHawkshead is ahead of the game. Four years ago, Paul, his wife Rachaeland around thirty villagers decided toraise the profile of environmental issueslocally, by producing reusable clothshopping bags and giving them out free at the Hawkshead Show. Local schoolchildren contributed pictures to decorate the bags – one child’s pictureof a giant earthworm, complete with amessage about ‘global worming’, is given pride of place.

Paul’s group, Esthwaite Green Link, isone of quite a number of community-based environmental action groups inthe Lake District (See page 16 for moreon Esthwaite Green Link). Similargroups exist in Grasmere and Staveley,and there are active ‘transition town’ initiatives centred on Kendal andPenrith, planning how communities can reduce dependence on oil and cutcarbon emissions.26

Phil Davies, of Cumbria Action forSustainability, which provides supportfor such groups, says that there is a realspirit of self-help in many communities,which extends to taking local action onclimate change issues. As Phil explains,“lots of things are happening, but manyare hidden. It is in the nature of self-helpthat things go unrecognised.” Many ofthose involved in local groups point tothe special, but fragile, nature of theLake District landscape as a motivationfor their actions. Lawrence Conway,Strategic Director (Customer Services)at South Lakeland District Council, hasnoticed that “people here are very conscious of green issues – it’s whythey like living here”.

These local initiatives are inspiring. But many involved in community groupspoint to the barriers that prevent themdoing more. The lack of alternatives tocar travel is seen as the most significanthurdle, and local attempts to tackle this,through car-sharing for example, havenot been a huge success. Many groupsare investigating ways of generatingtheir own energy, but are thwarted bythe cost, and bureaucracy, involved insuch schemes.

Among the fell ponies, sheepdogs and champion vegetables at the 2005Hawkshead Show, was a new attraction: the small green gazebo ofEsthwaite Green Link. Volunteers handed out distinctive home-madecloth shopping bags, along with greenadvice and information for residentsand holidaymakers alike. Paul Milling,one of the group’s founders, explainsthat they are motivated by the idea that“small changes add up”.

Esthwaite Green Link is one of fivecommunity groups established with thehelp of Cumbria Action for Sustainability(formerly Eden LA21). After HawksheadShow, they went on to initiate a rangeof projects to help the local communitytake simple steps to improve theirimpact on the environment. Theyoffered residents a free energy survey;worked with the local school to designscreen printed cotton bags; wrote regular articles for the church magazine;and campaigned against the closure oftheir Post Office. Paul is impressed byhow fast their ideas have caught on.Back in 2005, he says, they were “avoice in the wilderness”.

Lynda Johnson, another member, had an idea for an eye-catching event:Apple Day, held in October 2007. Lynda noticed how many apples inlocal orchards were being wasted, andthought that she could encourage people to juice them, so they could bestored as juice or turned into cider. The group hired an apple press, andset it up in the village square. Peoplecame and used the press, sterilisingequipment and bottler for free, with anenthusiastic crowd looking on. Lyndasays that people loved the day: “it’s stilltalked about now”. It was followed by a similar event at the village school,where children learned science, mathsand cookery through weighing, juicingand cooking their apples.

Lately, the group’s sights have turned torenewable bio-diesel, from a very localsource: the deep-fat fryers of the manyhotels and pubs in their community.They are exploring the possibility ofbuilding a bio-diesel plant which couldprocess and refine used vegetable oil,turning it into a fuel for cars.

It hasn’t all been straightforward. The group investigated whether theycould generate hydro power, but foundit too time-consuming and complex.They would have needed to draw uplegal agreements with landowners, connect to the national grid, gain anabstraction licence from theEnvironment Agency and get planningpermission – very difficult for a smallgroup of volunteers.

What has helped

The enthusiasm of the committee andthe wider community has been the driving force for the group. CumbriaAction for Sustainability have been veryhelpful. They also received a grant of£1000 from Cumbria CommunityFoundation, which was easy to access.

What has hindered

The group has found it difficult toresearch and apply for grants from theLottery and other sources, and are putoff by the bureaucracy of many fundingschemes. Their efforts to find a sourceof renewable energy have been hampered by the lack of independentadvice and support for small-scale generation. They would also like help to work on better transport options forthe valley.

EsthwaiteGreen Link

CaseStudy

16

Above:

Esthwaite Green Link bag


17

Green businessThere is also a vibrant green businesssector in the Lake District, linked to a growing awareness of the interdependence of the economy andthe environment. The environmentaleconomy generates £2.6 billion a yearfor the region as a whole, according to the Natural Economy Northwest project.27 Many tourism businesses like Elder Grove bed-and-breakfast (see page 34) and Langdale Hotel andTimeshare (see page 8) are beginningto see the business case for action on climate change. The Tourism andConservation Partnership, which supportsgreen tourism initiatives, has seen itsmembership grow by 40% in the lastthree years; around one in ten directtourism businesses are now members.28 Each member contributesto the Partnership by sponsoring an environmental project. Increasingly, thePartnership is working with memberson ways to reduce the environmentalimpact of their operation, including carbon reduction.

Like the community groups, however,green businesses face the problem that“the local facilities are totally inadequateto support anyone who wants to gogreen”, in the words of John Barwise, afounder of the Cumbria Green BusinessForum. The Forum has started to campaign to provide better facilities,like recycling depots for business.

Although most economic activity in theNational Park is linked to tourism29, theLake District is increasingly becoming alocation for knowledge-based industries,including those offering environmentalgoods and services, like Sundog (seepage 21) which designs, supplies andinstalls renewable electricity systems;and Turbine Services, based in Lorton,near Cockermouth, specialising in theinstallation of wind and water turbines.Again, the beautiful environment is aprime reason for location in the Lakes.

Environmental educatorA 2004 study into the future of theLake District30 identified the importantrole of the Lakes as “a centre of learning,training and development”, providing ahome to education, training and outdoor centres and businesses. Fromschoolchildren to business executives,people come to the Lakes to learn outdoors. Conservation volunteering,holidays and courses are organised bythe National Park Authority, NationalTrust, Friends of the Lake District andmany others.

Away from everyday life, there is achance to question established outlooksand habits. Geoff Cooper, who chairsthe ‘Adventure and EnvironmentalAwareness’ (AEA) group and runs anoutdoor centre at Coniston, says that “youngsters are motivated and receptive when they come on trips, andwe’re not locked into a tight curriculum.We can get them to think about thelinks between the local and the global.”The AEA group has recently turned itsattention to ways of communicating climate change through the outdoors.

At Geoff Cooper’s centre, wind andsolar power, recycling and compostingfacilities and practical work on conservation projects help to makeenvironmental issues come alive. At Outward Bound’s new Howtown centre, on Ullswater, most road travel isbeing designed out of the programmes,so participants walk, canoe or catchthe lake steamer to get to activities (see page 18). The National Trust’s beautiful new footprint building at St Catherine’s, designed as a base forschool groups, is built with natural andrecycled materials, including strawbales. These are all examples of whatKate Rawles, of the University ofCumbria, calls the ‘double dividend’:through reducing their own emissions,educational centres also provide inspiration for their visitors.

An emerging dialogueIt is clear that action on climate changewill require co-operation and dialoguebetween government, the private sector, and community and voluntarygroups. The Cumbria StrategicPartnership provides a forum for dialogue between these groups, andhas drawn up a climate change strategy for Cumbria as a whole. Within the Local Area Agreement forCumbria, (an agreement between central and local government and otherkey partners at the local level) there is a carbon reduction target, and discussions are underway to decidehow this target can be met. The LocalDevelopment Framework for theNational Park, which sets out howplanning will be managed in the localarea, looks at how planning frame-works can mitigate climate change,through promoting renewable energyand lower-carbon buildings, andimproving sustainable transport options.

The Cumbria Futures Forum, an independent think-tank, also works toshare experience, commission researchand create a supportive framework for action.

Above (left to right):

Keswick market

National Trust Footprint building

Haweswater

“Some environmental education is about playinggames, listening to expertsor doing experiments. It works well with youngerchildren or adults. I wantto find other ways, usingadventure and takingresponsibility.”

Young people on one of the courses atOutward Bound’s Ullswater centre aretrading in a new currency: the eco-point.Senior Instructor Nick Austin awardseco-points to students for collecting litter and other green jobs. If they wantto use the centre’s minibus, it coststhem hard-earned units. Nick says thatthe scheme is a great way of engagingpeople, particularly teenagers, in discussions about climate change and environmental issues. “Some environmental education”, he says, “is about playing games, listening toexperts or doing experiments. It workswell with younger children or adults. I want to find other ways, using adventure and taking responsibility.”

The eco-points are just one way in whichthe centre is starting engage its studentsand staff in environmental issues. Justunder a year ago, Outward Boundagreed on a new strategic direction forthe organisation, with environmentalsustainability emerging as a core valuefor the organisation. Now, it appears onall job descriptions, as an agenda itemfor every meeting, and most importantly,as a learning outcome for every course.Basic environmental improvements, likecomprehensive recycling and insulation,have already been undertaken at theUllswater centre, steered by a newenvironment committee, and they areexploring ideas which could includesolar photovoltaic panels – in a prominent location so that they have aneducational value, too.

Outward Bound recently opened a newcentre at Howtown, just the other sideof the lake from its main base, and thecentre only has one minibus for sixtystudents. Instead of driving, they getaround using the steamers on the lake,or walking to each activity. It’s a changeof mindset for all involved, but it allhelps to connect students to the environment and the world around them.

This year, for the first time, the centrewill run a course specifically on environmental leadership and personaldevelopment. Sponsored by Npower, it will be attended by a hundred youngpeople. Nick says that the whole philosophy of Outward Bound hasalways been to help people throughtransitions in their life – like the transitionto adulthood. Through combiningadventure with environmental responsibility, “people will be impressedby the quality of the landscape aroundthem, and realise that they have thepower in their hands to make changes.”

What has helped

Nick was involved in a local sustainabilityproject in Arthur Street, Penrith, helpedby Cumbria Action for Sustainability. This gave him the ideas and confidenceto push the agenda forward at work,too.They have been helped by an informalnetwork of allies, and by OutwardBound’s new strategy, which has environmental sustainability at its core.

What has hindered

The centre is limited by a lack ofresources, to upgrade buildings, for example.

OutwardBoundUllswater

CaseStudy

Above:

Sailing on Ullswater

18

There are tensionsbetween those promotingeconomic growth, andthose who are focusing onenvironmental protection.


19

Room for improvement

Despite these successes, there aresome areas of weakness in theresponse to climate change across theNational Park. Perhaps most crucially,many people feel a lack of overall strategyor direction. Second, and linked, thereare tensions between those promotingeconomic growth, and those who arefocusing on environmental protection.Third, there are very few attempts toreduce transport emissions in theLakes, although road transportaccounts for the highest single sourceof carbon. Lastly, it is striking that manyconservation-based initiatives in theNational Park do not yet take accountof climate change.

No sense of direction?As shown above, a strategic dialogueon climate change for the county isemerging, through the CumbriaStrategic Partnership process.However, many interviewees contactedfor this study pointed to mixed messageson climate change, in Cumbria as awhole, and within the National Park.This is partly because of the plethora ofpublic-sector players in Cumbria: theNorth West Development Agency,Cumbria Vision, Cumbria CountyCouncil, the District Councils, and theNational Park Authority, as well asstatutory agencies like the EnvironmentAgency and Natural England. Theorganisations vary in the degree towhich they are tackling climate change,and in their approaches to the issue.No organisation was seen to be takinga lead. As one interviewee said, “institutional failure is the biggest issue.There’s a lack of clarity and responsibility.”

Smaller businesses and communitygroups in particular felt removed from theStrategic Partnership process, and hadnot had any contact with local or regionalgovernment initiatives, though they pointedto the useful co-ordination role played byCumbria Action for Sustainability.

The problems involved with co-ordination across Cumbria as a wholecould well make it worthwhile for areas within the county, such as the National Park, to carve out a distinctiveapproach and a leadership role on climate change, within the context ofthe Cumbria-wide strategy.

Above:

Bank Holiday parking

20

The confusion is not helped by a complexset of national policies and initiatives. Ata national level, responsibility for energyand climate change is split betweentwo government departments, Defra31

and BERR32, with planning policy residingin a third department, CLG33; and a raftof regulatory and delivery agencies –the Carbon Trust, Energy Saving Trust,OFGEM34, the Environment Agency andso on. This patchwork of departmentsand agencies tends to cause confusionat the local level. Esthwaite Green Link(see page 16) encountered a number ofinstitutional hurdles when they attemptedto reinstall a small hydro electricityscheme in the valley, having to dealwith regulations on electricity supplyand distribution, water abstraction andplanning, as well as navigating throughthe various possible grant schemes. It was too much for them: “the amountof work involved was astronomical. The process was so slow, so complexand so expensive that we gave up.”

The Climate Change Bill, currentlybefore Parliament, may help to providea clearer sense of direction at nationallevel. Statutory national carbon emissionstargets will be set, broken down intospecific targets for each sector of theeconomy. In this way, there should be a clearer sense of direction overall.

Growth first?Both Cumbria as a whole, and the Lake District in particular, face economicdifficulties, with lower wage levels andfewer employment opportunities incomparison with the UK as a whole.Some interviewees expressed a worrythat higher environmental standardscould make life harder for businesses,or encourage them to locate elsewhere.As one said, “We can’t be too prescriptivewhen encouraging businesses in.”Some infrastructure developmentschemes for the County, such as roadimprovements or the proposed airportat Carlisle, are seen as necessary forthe economy, despite their high carboncost. The implicit argument is that economic growth is a prerequisite, andthat a higher level of environmental protection is only possible once the fundamentals are right: the logic of‘growth first’.

This argument is by no means uniqueto Cumbria. At national level, governmentsupport for increased airport and roadcapacity, such as Heathrow’s third runway, in order to promote economicgrowth, conflicts with its stated aim forambitious carbon reduction. But thetension seems particularly acute withinCumbria, which has both a fragileeconomy and a highly prized naturalenvironment. This leads to what oneinterviewee described as “different factions” with very different priorities.

However, many argue that much of theCumbrian economy, and particularly theeconomy of the National Park, isdependent on the environment, and thespectacular landscape. This is obviouslythe case with the visitor economy. But there is also some evidence thatother businesses choose to locate herebecause of the beautiful surroundings –particularly high-tech and knowledge-based industries. Sundog is an exampleof such a company (see page 21). It would be far easier, in logistical terms,to locate in Manchester or Birmingham.

But Matterdale is a much more pleasingprospect for their employees, andSundog has won a high-achieving, loyalworkforce as a result: As Sundog’sMartin Cotterell says, “the area attractsgreat people”.

The study on the impacts of climatechange legislation for Cumbria,described earlier, points to significanteconomic benefits arising from actionon climate change35. Elsewhere, a studyof Yorkshire demonstrated that thethree National Parks in the region “bring economic benefits for the businesses within them, for businessesjust outside them, and for the region…there is no evidence that businesses as a whole are suffering from unduerestrictions compared to those elsewhere.”36

“the amount of workinvolved was astronomical.The process was so slow, socomplex and so expensivethat we gave up.”

Perched on the fells above Ullswater,the small farming village of MatterdaleEnd is not the sort of place you’dexpect to find one of the UK’s leadingsolar energy companies. But SundogEnergy has been based here for elevenyears, and the staff love it. Sundog’sowner Martin Cotterell says that “as aplace to work, you can’t fault it.”

Martin set up Sundog in 1995, with hispartner Ali. Both had been working forGreenpeace, campaigning among otherthings to promote renewable energy,and wanted, in Martin’s words, to help“offer a real solution to something I’dbeen campaigning on” – so Sundogwas born. The company designs, supplies and installs systems that generate electricity from solar or windenergy, working with schools, housingassociations, local councils, businessesand homeowners.

Martin and Ali scoured the country looking for a suitable location. Theydecided upon their base in the Lakesbecause it is a beautiful place to be,and most parts of the UK are accessiblevia the West Coast Mainline which runsthrough Penrith, ten miles away.Sundog now has eighteen staff, and afull order book. They recently finishedinstalling a solar photovoltaic system onthe roof of the London TransportMuseum, and managed to travel bytrain for most of the project, driving justone van down to London.

Despite their location, Sundog have notdone much work within the NationalPark. They did fit solar panels to theroof of Keswick School, but most oftheir projects are elsewhere. Martinthinks that people assume it’s not possible to install renewables on buildings: “there’s a general perceptionthat you can’t do that in the Park”. He would like to see a few high-profileschemes, together with better information and awareness-raising, to change this perception.

Sundog’s challenge now is to stay put. They have outgrown their current premises, but are having problems finding anywhere to go: “We’d like tostay in the Park, but it’s difficultbecause there’s just not the places.There are no business units nearby, andproperty turnover is pretty slow.” Martinwould like Sundog to locate with otherlike-minded businesses, and showcasethe technologies that they work with.

What has helped

Sundog’s business is closely tied togovernment grants for renewable energy, most recently the Low-CarbonBuildings programme. However, thismeans that it is hard to plan longer-term,as the market is grant-dependent.Sundog has also received help withmarketing and business planning fromBusiness Link Northwest. Partly due toits idyllic location, Sundog has managedto recruit and retain dedicated staff, andtheir proximity to the railway mainlinehas helped them to minimise road travel.

What has hindered

Although they are helped by grants, it is still hard for small-scale energy to compete in a system which isdesigned to favour large-scale generation. The market for their services is still small. Sundog is alsolimited by the lack of suitable businesspremises in the Lakes, and housingshortages mean that it is hard for staffto find accommodation.

SundogEnergy

CaseStudy

Above:

Keswick School house


21

“It offers a real solution to something I’d beencampaigning on”

22

Roads to nowhereCar use, and other road transport,accounts for the largest single chunk of carbon emissions within the NationalPark, and is growing at the rate of oneper cent per year.37 The vast majority of residents, and visitors, get around by car. This problem is by no meansunique to the Lakes: the EnglishNational Park Authorities Associationsays that in many areas, “The sheer volume of traffic can undermine the special qualities of National Parks,like their tranquillity, and conflict withaims to conserve and enhance the natural environment, heritage and localcharacter.”38

There are some initiatives in place toreduce car dependence in the LakeDistrict. The National Park Authoritypromotes a number of schemes, suchas leaflets encouraging visitors to ‘givethe driver a break’ and get around bybus, boat or bicycle. Cumbria CountyCouncil has recently employed its firstcycling development officer (see page 23)and subsidises rural bus services, incommon with most local authorities.The ‘Cross Lakes Experience’ links tickets and timetables from Windermereto Coniston. Other initiatives include theOsprey Bus, funded by Heritage LotteryFund, which takes visitors from Keswickto Bassenthwaite, and promotionalleaflets by the Lakes Line Railway,

including an enterprising scheme mapping all the real ale pubs withinwalking distance of Lakes Line Stations– with discounts on the beer for railticket holders.

Within other National Parks, similar projects aim to get visitors out of theircars. Perhaps the most extensive network is the MoorsBus, in the NorthYork Moors National Park, which bringsan estimated £300,000 into the localeconomy, and provides access forthose without a car.39 Other schemesinclude the Pembrokeshire Puffin andDales Bus networks, and theSnowdonia Green Key Partnership. The Peak District has been investigatingpossibilities of road user charging,backed by Derbyshire County Council.40

In the Lakes, though the existing initiatives are useful, they do not add upto a cohesive transport alternative forthe National Park as a whole. The ruralnature of the Lakes means that providingsuch an alternative is challenging. But the problems are becoming moreacute. Some areas of the Lakes, suchas the Windermere to Ambleside road,are severely congested at peak holidaytimes, and parking is difficult in manytourist areas, including more remote valleys popular with walkers. As cyclingdevelopment officer Mark Brierley says,“increased car use is going to force us

into some hard decisions. There arepinchpoints where the car is a realproblem, both in terms of congestionand safety. When there are too manycars parked near Cat Bells, fire enginescan’t get into the Newlands Valley.”

The issues of congestion, parking limitsand carbon emissions are linked.Transport problems were mentioned bynearly every interviewee in this research.The scale of the problem means thatthere may be an appetite for radicalchange – as one respondent said, “weare beginning to think the unthinkable”.

Left:

Osprey bus

“The sheer volume of traffic can undermine the special qualities ofNational Parks, like theirtranquillity, and conflictwith aims to conserve and enhance the naturalenvironment, heritage and local character.”

But Mark struggles against what hecalls the inbuilt ‘car culture’, with peoplevery dependent on cars to get around;and resistant to efforts to restrain cars.He also notes a tendency toward maintaining the status quo, which prevents development of ambitioussolutions such as car-free routes.

Mark was heartened to hear a complaintrecently about children cycling on thepavements in Carlisle. Although notimpressed by their lawlessness, he was “glad that there were enough of them to be noticed, even if it’s for thewrong reasons!”

What has helped

The close involvement of CumbriaCounty Council, who are responsiblefor transport planning, has helped; ashas strong political support, from localpoliticians and MPs.

What has hindered

Partnership working, though necessary,is difficult. Multiple funders mean multiple agendas. An inbuilt car culture,and a wider picture of declining publictransport provision, give Mark limitedroom for manoeuvre. Lastly, there is atendency for the NorthwestDevelopment Agency to support big,flagship projects, rather than small,incremental improvements, which iswhat is needed to improve walking andcycling provision.

Mark Brierley,Cycling DevelopmentOfficer for CumbriaCounty Council

CaseStudy

Mark Brierley has only got a year topersuade Cumbrians to get on theirbikes. He has a year’s worth of fundingfor his new post, as cycling developmentofficer for Cumbria County Council.Given the overwhelming focus on car-based transport in Cumbria, Mark is remarkably upbeat. He says that thework he’s doing is a great starting point – beforehand, there was no co-ordination of efforts to promotecycling across the County. Now, peopleknow who to call.

There is huge potential in promoting theLakes as a destination for cycling holidays, particularly for families, andMark is working to develop traffic-freecycle routes, including a track roundThirlmere reservoir. He would like to seedesignated cycle ‘hubs’ in the Lakes –places like Windermere station, wherepeople could arrive with bikes, or hirethem on the spot, and travel around thearea easily and safely. Promoting cycletourism in West Cumbria, aroundCleator Moor and Egremont, wouldhelp regeneration efforts, too.

Mark finds a lot of support and enthusiasm for his work, from localpoliticians and communities. He saysthat it would be quite possible to createan entire non-car transport network inthe National Park, with walking andcycling routes backed up by good publictransport, information provision andmarketing. The high number of visitorsto the Lakes could, he believes, providethe motivation for a shift toward moresustainable transport provision – onewhich residents would benefit from, too.Conversely, a failure to act could impactbadly on tourism, with visitors avoidingspots like Ambleside, where congestionmakes the environment unpleasant forpedestrians and drivers alike.

Above:

Cycle hire


23

24

Conservation or climate?From John Ruskin onward, the LakeDistrict has always been important toconservationists. Statutory agenciesincluding the National Park Authorityand Natural England, as well as voluntary bodies like the National Trust,Friends of the Lake District andCumbria Wildlife Trust, exist to conserveand enhance the Lake District landscapeand its biodiversity. Climate change willhave a significant impact on both landscape and biodiversity, as discussedabove. However, these linkages arecomplex and difficult to understand orpredict. As a result, some conservationgroups admit that they have been slowto link conservation with climate changemitigation or adaptation. As one suchorganisation said, “our focus is on biodiversity. We need to add carbon tothe list.”

The challenge for conservationists istwofold. Firstly, there is a need to betterunderstand how climate change maychange the natural environment, andconsequently, what needs to be done to allow species to adapt to climatechange. Natural England’s work in thisarea is a helpful starting point.41

Second, conservation groups need tolook at their own impacts – both interms of reducing greenhouse gasemissions, and in terms of what theycan do to sequester greenhouse gasesthrough planting, changes to agricultureor peat bog restoration. Groups likeCumbria Wildlife Trust are starting to do this (see page 25). By taking action on climate change as part of their dailyoperations, groups can inspire theirmembers and visitors to do likewise.

Left:

Foulshaw Moss

“our focus is on biodiversity.We need to add carbon tothe list.”

conditions that are essential for many of the rare plants and animals. Butrestoring peat bogs has an added benefit: it locks in carbon. Peat soilscontain huge amounts of carbon, whichis released as carbon dioxide if the bogdries out. So protecting peat bogs is avaluable way of reducing carbon emissions. According to the Moors forthe Future project42, peatlands storearound three billion tonnes of carbon,the equivalent of 20 years of UK carbondioxide emissions.

But there are currently no funds availableto help land managers lock in carbon,through managing peat bogs. CumbriaWildlife Trust receives funding fromNatural England to preserve FoulshawMoss, but the money is received fornature conservation, not for carbonbenefits. Neither has the Trust mentionedthe carbon sink role of its reserve infunding bids – as conservation managerDavid Harpley explains, “when we started doing this, nobody talked aboutlocking up carbon. But it fits well withnature conservation objectives.”

Foulshaw Mossnature reserve,Cumbria Wildlife Trust

CaseStudy

The peat bog at Foulshaw Moss, nearWitherslack, has been around a longtime – it was formed around 8,000years ago, as part of a much largerarea of wetland, extending from theKent Estuary to the Lyth and Winstervalleys. Hundreds of years ago, coachestravelling north from Lancashire had tocross the treacherous sands ofMorecambe Bay, as the bog made theland itself impassable. Today, althoughmuch smaller, it covers 350 hectares,making it one of the largest areas ofuncut lowland peatbog in Britain.Nationally, only six per cent of originally-existing peat bogs remain, due to peatextraction for use as fuel or as a growing medium.

When Cumbria Wildlife Trust bought the land in 1998, with help from theHeritage Lottery Fund, the main aimwas to protect the rare habitat, and thespecies that inhabit it, such as the largeheath butterfly and the bog bush cricket. The Trust worked to block offdrainage channels and re-wet the bog,to restore the acidic and waterlogged

Right:

Cotton grass reflection


25

He thinks that there would be greatpotential, though, in funds to help landmanagers preserve carbon-rich soils – it would also be a way of payingupland farmers to manage the fells.

What has helped

Grants to preserve and enhance thebiodiversity of Foulshaw Moss have also helped to protect the bog as a carbon store. The ‘Moors for theFuture’ partnership, set up to restorethe Peak District moors, has commissioned research to gain betterunderstanding of the role of peatlandsas carbon stores.

What has hindered

Carbon management is not a criterionof grants for biodiversity or nature conservation. There is no fundingsource available for carbon managementof peat bogs, although it an economicalway of reducing emissions to theatmosphere.

26

Towards a low-carbonLake District

Over the next decade, all regions of theUK will need to take significant action inorder to achieve deep cuts in emissionsof carbon and other greenhouse gases.The inspirational environment of theLake District gives the National Park anopportunity to lead and inspire visitorson climate change, too. The challengewill be to find ways of doing this that fitwith the culture, history, landscape andlocal communities.

The Lake District National ParkPartnership could provide a usefulforum for leading the overall responseto climate change, and for agreeing thedistinct contribution of the NationalPark, within the context of Cumbria’s climate change strategy.

Based on the research conducted forthis report, and the findings of the separate study on the impacts of climate change legislation for Cumbria,described earlier43, there are six areas in which the Lake District could make adifference, reducing its own emissionsand inspiring others to do likewise.

The Lake District could work to developcommunity energy solutions, with small-scale energy generation linked to other energy saving measures. A sustainable transport strategy couldoffer the Lakes a workable alternative toprivate car travel, which would bringother benefits too, including reduced congestion and parking problems.

There is a need to diversify employmentin the area, and one way of doing thiswould be through developing a greenbusiness hub, encouraging low-carbonbusinesses and services to locate in theNational Park. Positioning the LakeDistrict as an environmental enabler –inspiring visitors to take action on climatechange – would reap dividends.Related to this, the Lakes could joinwith other National Parks to encourageholidays at home – low-impact domestictourism. Lastly, there is a need to look at evolving landscapes – joiningtogether debates about conservationand climate change, to examine howthe landscape and biodiversity of theLakes will change over time, and how it can best adapt to future changes inthe climate.

Each of these opportunities is outlinedbelow, with indications of how theycould be achieved, and who could be involved.

Above:

Sundog Energy

Towards a low-carbon Lake District

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Communityenergy solutions

The Lake District has an abundance ofnatural resources that could be used togenerate renewable electricity and heat,from wind, sun, water and wood. Small-scale schemes can be designedin ways that do not impact adversely onthe landscape. They are more efficientthan large-scale schemes, becausepower is used locally, minimising thelosses involved in distribution.Renewable generation is particularlycarbon- and cost-effective in rural locations which are off the gas grid.Crucially, small-scale energy generationhelps to engage people in energy andclimate change issues, creating the linkin people’s minds between their use ofenergy and where it comes from.44

Building on the success of groups likeEsthwaite Green Link (see page 16),there is also considerable potential forencouraging and supporting communityaction on climate change.

Under the current regulatory system,the financial, technical and legal hurdlesinvolved in establishing local energygeneration are considerable, and manycommunity groups and small businessesdo not have the resources or expertiseto set schemes up. There is a need forindependent advice, and easy-to-accessproject funding, for community energysolutions. This could be achievedthrough:

An advice and facilitation service:Such a service would help with technicalissues, planning, regulation, access tofinance, and legal questions. A possiblemodel for this would be The North YorkMoors Community Renewable EnergyProject, which is working with localcommunities to help them find ways to save and generate energy,45 or theMarches Energy Agency in Shropshire.46

It should be closely linked to, or run by,existing organisations who have experience in working with communitiesand businesses on sustainability issues,

such as Cumbria Action for Sustainability,the Tourism and ConservationPartnership, Cumbria BusinessEnvironment Network and CumbriaWoodlands. Cumbria CommunityFoundation could also help to involvevoluntary groups who may not yet haveconsidered climate change issues.

As an alternative to grants, a low-interestloan scheme could provide capital forcarbon-saving projects. The schemewould be a revolving fund: moneysaved through energy efficiencyimprovements, or energy generation,would be paid back into the fund foruse by others. Such a scheme runs inthe Borough of Camden, in London.These schemes are also used widely,by local authorities, to finance improvements in the public sector.47

Creating an energy services company:An energy services company (ESCO) forthe National Park could design, build,own and operate decentralised energysystems for both new and existingdevelopments. London, Southampton,Woking and other areas have establishedsuccessful schemes of this nature.There are many different types ofESCO, and detailed research by theEnergy Saving Trust and others sets outthe various models.48 An ESCO couldbe run as a partnership between theAuthority, major energy users such aslarge hotels or conference centres, and an energy company. It could alloworganisations such as schools, outdoorcentres, community groups and businesses, to buy into renewable energy and energy efficiency services. It could act as a ‘broker’, linking energyusers together. This will increase efficiency, as different users use powerat different times of day. For example,schools use power during the day, interm time; during the summer months,power could be used elsewhere.

Positive planning for small-scalerenewables: The National ParkAuthority should, as a planning authority,promote small-scale renewable energy.This can be done through specifyingthat new developments should generatea proportion of energy on-site49; andthrough providing pre-application support and advice for renewablesdevelopments that require planning permission. A survey of the potential forsuch energy (for example, potentialhydro sites;50 and the potential for solarand wind energy in different parts of theNational Park) would help to identifywhere schemes could be developed.

Above:

Weir at Staveley

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A sustainable transport strategy

There is a clear consensus thatimprovements must be made to theLake District’s transport infrastructure,to allow genuine alternatives to privatecar travel, for both residents and visitors to the Park. As well as being afast-growing source of carbon emissions,increased car use is leading to congestion and parking problems, particularly in the peak holiday periods.A separate study into an integrated sustainable transport framework for theNational Park is currently underway, and will report later in 2008, setting outpossible ways forward. On the basis ofthe research conducted for this report,there are a number of options for tackling the climate change impacts oftransport: Some of these are listed below.It is important that these and othersform an input to the transport study.

A sustainable transport network forthe Lakes: There is a need to link andco-ordinate between the differentmodes of non-car travel – bus, trains,bicycles, boats and walking – to promotea sustainable transport network linkingall major villages and attractions in theNational Park. Initially, this could bebased upon existing services, withimprovements made to timetable co-ordination, shared ticketing, marketing,bicycle carriage and storage. A LakeDistrict travel map could be produced,to make non-car options clear andaccessible. It could be supported by anIT solution such as YourNextBus, ascheme in South Yorkshire which sendsusers real-time bus information by text.51

The ‘Cross Lakes Experience’, whichco-ordinates buses and boats to alloweasy travel between WindermereStation and Coniston, is a smaller-scaleexample of what is possible. Such anetwork would benefit both residentsand visitors.

Above:

Improved bus links

A Lakes Travelcard: A flat-feeTravelcard, which covered all non-cartravel, would encourage take-up of sustainable transport options. Like theLondon Travelcard, it would allow unlimited travel on all public transport,including boats, for a day or longer. The Travelcard could also be linked tolong-stay car parking, for those whotravel to the Lakes by car. Residentscould be offered discounted rates.

Smart travel planning: Pilot studieshave shown that sustainable travel canbe encouraged, and car travel reduced,through promotion of travel planning. In the ‘sustainable travel towns’ ofDarlington, Peterborough andWorcester, traffic fell by 10% or more,and public transport, walking andcycling increased. The rural nature ofthe Lake District makes comparison difficult. But smart travel planning couldform part of the solution. It involveshome visits from travel advisers, whotalk through options for regular journeyssuch as trips to work and school, andgather feedback to improve services.For visitors, accommodation providerscould be trained to offer support andadvice to their guests.

Car sharing and car clubs: In ruralareas, there will continue to be a needfor car-based transport. However, carshare schemes and car clubs (easy,cheap car hire for short periods of time)could help reduce the number of trips,and the need for households to own asecond car. This is starting to happen -the Keswick Business ImprovementDistrict recently introduced ‘KeswickCarshare’. Major employers, communitygroups and local authorities could collaborate to promote such schemes.

Improvements to bus and rail networks: There is also a need forimprovements to bus and rail networks.Bus and rail services need to be morefrequent and reliable if they are to provide a viable alternative to car travel.Possible areas for improvement include:increased frequency and journey timeson the Cumbrian Coast rail route, toallow access to the Western lakes; andreintroduction of rail or light rail betweenPenrith, Keswick and Cockermouth.

Getting the incentives right:At present, car travel is the cheapestway to access most areas of the LakeDistrict. There is a need to change thefinancial signals, to make sustainabletransport options more competitive,particularly for visitors. This could bedone by charging cars, through aNational Park entry fee, congestioncharging or parking charges; with therevenues spent on sustainable transportoptions. Charges could vary seasonally,to reflect demand and levels of congestion. Residents, and people with mobility impairments, could payreduced charges. However, suchcharges should not be introducedunless a reliable public transport networkis functioning, to provide a clear alternative to car travel.

When the new University of Cumbriawas created in 2007, staff and studentshad a long hard think about whatshould set their university apart. One of their core values, they decided,would be environmental sustainability.As Eunice Simmons, Dean of theFaculty of Natural Resources, explains, “our location is fundamental to what wedo. Cumbria conjures up images ofgreenness and everything right with theworld. We need to reflect this in ourcourses and practice.”

The University has put in place a thorough process by which environmentalimprovements are identified and implemented. A committee of seniormanagers leads the work, and taskgroups look at different areas – energy,biodiversity, land use, buildings, waterand waste, reporting to the main committee. There are active greengroups for staff and students, too.

There is lots of work to be done – someof it very basic, like fitting insulation tomany campus buildings. They nowapply rigorous sustainability standardsto all refurbishment projects and newbuildings. Last year, they won a ‘greengown’ award for efforts to promote biodiversity at the Newton Rigg campus. They have done a travelreview, and are looking at ways toreduce miles travelled, investing in videoconferencing. One of the hidden benefits,says Eunice, is that it can “unlock different ways of doing things. It makesyou ask, do we really need this meeting?Are there smarter ways to work?”

Another area where much can be done is procurement. Changes in EUprocurement rules mean that theUniversity is allowed to favour local andregional suppliers. They are now activelyseeking local suppliers, and the nextstep will be to work with those suppliersto improve environmental standards.

The university has a special interest inbiodiesel, and produces its own fuel, topower farm vehicles and heating boilers.The biodiesel press and reactor systemwas built by engineering students, andlocal farmers are offered the chance togrow oilseed rape which the universitythen processes. The biodiesel project isprimarily an educational tool, for teachingstudents about the energy cycle. It saves carbon, too, if the crops aregrown locally: “it’s not the global answer but it might be a local answer”,as Eunice explains.

Future plans include a new constructionschool, specialising in heritage construction and retrofitting renewables;and more short courses in sustainabilityissues for professionals, like planningofficers.

What has helped

Top-level support from the Universityhas been important. The biodiesel project was funded by Leader +.

What has hindered

The time it takes to make improvementsis problematic: “The hardest thing is tomaintain momentum. People can startto switch off.”

Universityof Cumbria

CaseStudy

Above:

Biodiesel


29

“our location is fundamentalto what we do. Cumbriaconjures up images ofgreenness and everythingright with the world. Weneed to reflect this in ourcourses and practice.”

30

Above:

Wind turbine

A green business hub

There is a pressing need to createemployment in knowledge-based, hi-tech and creative industries, and evidence that people working in theseindustries would welcome the opportunityto locate in or near the National Park.52

Much work of this sort could be carriedout remotely. The Lake DistrictEconomic Futures Study put forward apossible future scenario called ‘DigitalWaterside’, in which “the Lake Districtincreasingly becomes a location forremote workers”, leading to a “bigincrease in the extent of knowledgeworkers in the Lake District – withpotential attraction to inward investorsinto some other parts of Cumbria.”53

The Lake District National ParkAuthority, working with Cumbria Vision,could link the drive for knowledge-based employment with a desire topromote environmental industries,through positioning itself as an attractivelocation for green business. This couldbe done through, for example:

Creation of a ‘green business park’or employment zone in or near theNational Park: There is currently ashortage of suitable business sites within the National Park.54 This preventsexisting companies expanding, andnew companies locating in the Lakes.The Local Development Framework forthe National Park identifies a need fornew business sites. A green businesspark would provide a home for environmental businesses, such asrenewable energy companies or environmental consultancies. It couldbe linked to the University of Cumbria.As well as providing employment, it would make environmental goodsand services more easily available locally. The business park could itselfbe an exemplar of sustainable building.It would need to be supported by sustainable transport provision to andfrom the site.

Support for home knowledge workers:Cumbria Vision could provide supportfor knowledge-based home workers inCumbria as a whole, and particularly in the National Park. Research by theCommission for Rural Communitiesshows that home workers make up onein nine of the rural workforce, but homeworking is rarely acknowledged orencouraged by central or local government, despite the benefits ofreduced travel and economic diversification that it brings.55 Homeknowledge workers can be supportedthrough good broadband connectionsacross the area; shared facilities formeeting and video conferencing (perhaps linked to the business park, as above); and support for networkingactivities. Cornwall’s Digital PeninsulaNetwork56 is a potential model. It linksover 170 micro-businesses and offerstraining, networking and a resourcecentre for members’ use.

Growth from within: In recent years,efforts have been made to encourageand market local products, particularlyfood, drink and crafts. The Leader +programme57 and the DistinctlyCumbrian initiative run by Cumbria RuralEnterprise Agency58 are examples. These programmes are likely to haveclimate change benefits too, throughreducing transport emissions andencouraging seasonal produce, and thisshould be acknowledged. At themoment, such initiatives tend to targetthe tourist sector, but local productscould also be marketed to local people.In addition, Cumbria Vision and CREAcould promote local energy and environment companies – such asSecond Nature, manufacturers ofsheep’s wool insulation; CumbriaWoodlands, who promote biomassheating; Sundog (see page 21); andTurbine Services.


31

An environmental enabler

Over 12 million people a year visit theLake District.59 Research shows thatpeople are more receptive to ideas forchanging their behaviour when they areremoved from their normal surroundingsand habits.60 Many people have a strongbond with the Lake District and are willing to support it, through donating toinitiatives like ‘Fix the Fells’ and throughvolunteering and conservation holidays.So any climate change initiative withinthe National Park which is visible andwell communicated, will have a doubledividend. As well as resulting in reductionsof greenhouse gases directly, it willinform and motivate visitors and localpeople. The Tourism and ConservationPartnership’s visitor payback scheme isan example of a project that helps visitors to understand and act on environmental issues in the NationalPark. The inspirational landscape of the Lakes, coupled with inspirationalexamples of low-carbon initiatives,could play a key role in engaging peopleto take action on climate change. This could be achieved through:

Further support for business action:Cumbria Tourism could work withestablished organisations such as theCumbria Business and EnvironmentNetwork (CBEN), Cumbria GreenBusiness Forum (CGBF) and theTourism and Conservation Partnershipto encourage more tourism businessesto take action, and look at ways ofcommunicating this action to visitors.There should be a particular focus onoutreach to businesses who are notcurrently engaged. It could take placethrough regular contact with businesses(such as assessment visits and trainingcourses, for example). Limitedresources currently restrict the reach ofexisting schemes. Similar support isneeded for outdoor education centresand organisations, perhaps working inpartnership with the Adventure andEnvironmental Awareness group.

Climate Leadership: There is a needto reach out to organisations not currently involved in the climate debate,and encourage them to think through

the impacts of climate change for theirbusiness or sector. Through the LakeDistrict National Park Partnership,potential ‘climate leaders’ could beidentified, to form a network. Thisapproach has been pioneered at theCambridge Programme for Industry,which brings together UK leaders tohelp them communicate the challengesof climate change and explore ways of taking further action.61 LancasterUniversity’s new Academy forEnvironmental Leadership could play a role in such a scheme for the Lakes.

A ‘Low-carbon Lake District’ brand:Such a brand could be used by public,private and voluntary sector organisationswho are taking action on climatechange. This would not be a separateaward scheme, but would link to existing accreditation schemes such as the CBEN scheme, the GreenTourism Business Scheme awards62

and projects supported by the National Park Authority’s SustainableDevelopment Fund.

Rod Hughes, a Penrith-based architect,was championing green buildings longbefore it was fashionable to do so. Over fifteen years ago, he startedexperimenting with energy efficientbuildings, pioneering new approachesand presenting his findings to theBuilding Research Establishment. When he started out, his approach was seen as unnecessary and expensive,especially as there were limited regulatorystandards or financial support for greenbuildings. “Back then”, he explains, “it was definitely a niche, strange, fringeactivity – but no longer”.

Today, he works with clients in theNational Park and further afield, tryingto reduce carbon impacts of new buildings and refurbishments alike. A refurbishment project at the Lakeside Hotel, Newby Bridge gavehim the chance to install energy controlsystems, and passive heating and cooling. Over a number of years ofworking with the hotel, he has graduallyimproved their energy performance.

At Cockermouth school, Rod workedwith pupils and staff to design an eco-centre, which is a showcase forenvironmental design. It generates itown energy from three differentsources: a ground-source heat pump,solar panels, and a wind turbine. Being super-insulated, it doesn’t needmuch heating, so it exports excesspower back to the grid. Building materials include recycled bricks andold food bins. The centre is used byschool students, as well as communitygroups, and helps to spread the message about green architecture.

Rod believes that much more could bedone to promote small-scale renewableenergy. Farm buildings like lambingsheds have large roofs, ideal for solarpanels, but there is little incentive toinstall them. He thinks more could bedone to get groups to link together onenergy issues – community heatingschemes, solar water heating and soon could all be retrofitted into existingbuildings. He would also like experimentmore with ultra-low impact settlementsin the National Park.

Over recent years, Rod has seen theinterest in green buildings grow andgrow – thanks, in part, to the televisionprogramme Grand Designs. He ispleased that it is gradually becomingmainstream, “following years of beatingmy head against the wall.”

What has helped

Energy standards in building regulationshave increased dramatically, which hashelped persuade clients to try newapproaches. It is now much easier toassess the green criteria of a buildingduring the design stage with the variousenergy and performance models available. The green movement moregenerally has gained momentum, andmore people are interested in the environmental performance of buildings.

What has hindered

It can be difficult to persuade clients togo green, they always anticipate extracapital cost but rarely look at reducedlifetime costs. The interest is generally incomplying with building regulations andgetting planning permission, not goingfurther than the legislation requires.

Rod Hughes, architect, ad.hoc associates

CaseStudy

Right:

Environmental building techniques

32

Right:

Picnic in Colwith Force Woods


33

Holidays at home

One of the most significant ways inwhich the Lake District could contributeto carbon reduction would be toencourage more UK residents to holiday at home, rather than flyingabroad. There is a growing market for‘low-impact’ tourism, and increasingunease among some (but still a smallminority of) holidaymakers about thecarbon impact of their travel. Devonrecently began a marketing campaignbased around climate change, tellingholiday makers “if you want to lessenyour carbon footprint on holiday, maketracks for Devon.”63 Economic benefits of encouraging domestic tourism couldbe considerable. A 2003 study showedthat UK tourists took more money outof the economy than visitors brought in - the tourism ‘balance of payments’was over £11 billion in the red. Thisequates to the loss of 165,000 jobs in the North West alone.64 The LakeDistrict could be part of a wider initiativeto encourage low-impact domestictourism in the UK. It could work withother National Parks as well as organisations like the National Trust, toestablish a ‘holiday at home’ initiative.This could be achieved through:

Work with other National Parks:working through the Association ofNational Park Authorities (ANPA), andthrough direct links with other NationalPark Authorities, to promote the environmental benefits of UK holidays.

Creation of a ‘holiday at home’ coalition: involving, for example,National Park Authorities; rail companiessuch as Virgin Trains; Visit Britain; theNational Trust; environmental groupslike the RSPB and Friends of the Earth,to encourage low-impact holidays within the UK. This could involve jointbranding and marketing; research intothe carbon benefits of UK holidays; a ‘train miles’ scheme to encouragepublic transport; and so on.

Visitors to Elder Grove bed and breakfastwill definitely notice the home-made jamand locally produced sausages andeggs on the breakfast table. But, unlessthey catch sight of the bulging file ofenvironmental achievements on the coffee table in the lounge, they may notrealise that they are staying in one ofthe Lake District’s greenest guesthouses.Last year, Elder Grove was awarded agold award in the Green Tourism andBusiness Scheme, in recognition of itsthorough environmental management.Every effort is made to reduce energyuse, increase recycling rates and cutdown on wastage.

Paul and Vicky McDougall’s greentransformation began a few years agowhen they were thinking of new waysto develop their business and attractvisitors. They knew that membership of green schemes, like the Tourism andConservation Partnership, would helpto differentiate them. They got involvedin the Partnership, and, with help fromthe Cumbria Business and EnvironmentNetwork, they took some basic steps to monitor and manage theirenvironmental impact. It began to takeon a life of its own. When they neededa new boiler, Paul pored over energyefficiency ratings as much as comparingprices, and looked into getting a government grant for the most efficientmodel, though they were thwarted bythe form-filling involved. A new carpetfor the lounge was sourced locally, andmade with local sheep’s wool; the oldone was reused elsewhere. An old bedwas recycled into wood for a log burner,and old furniture donated to help peoplewhose houses had been damaged bythe floods in Carlisle. They evenfundraise for local conservation projects,and raised £1000 last year.

Paul and Vicky now see their environmental efforts as part-and-parcelof doing business in the Lake District – “We just feel like we’re doing our bit, really”.

They would like to see more support forbusinesses like theirs, who are makinga real effort to reduce their carbon footprint. They suggested that all bed-and-breakfasts could be asked todraw up a basic environmental policy,as part of their registration with VisitBritain, and should be given help totake the first steps. Businesses with arecognised green accreditation couldbe eligible for reduced membershiprates of Cumbria Tourism, in recognitionof their achievement. And they said thatthey would be happy to help theirguests use the car less, and get aroundon public transport – if the buses areregular and cheap enough.

What has helped

The main sources of help for Elder Grovecame from the Tourism and ConservationPartnership, and Cumbria Business andEnvironment Network.

What has hindered

The McDougalls found it difficult toaccess government funds for low-carbontechnologies – businesses are entitledto ‘enhanced capital allowances’ forcertain low-carbon technologies but it ishard to ascertain which products areeligible, and the form-filling required isdifficult for a small business to manage.

The limited recycling facilities for businesses discourage recycling, as it is more expensive than normal wastedisposal. Inadequate and expensivepublic transport also causes problems,as it means that it is difficult to persuade guests to leave their car inthe car park.

Elder Grove bed and breakfast,Ambleside

CaseStudy

34

Above:

Elder Grove jams

“We just feel like we’redoing our bit, really”.

Climate change will alter the look andfeel of the Lake District. But there isalso a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the future of upland farming in the Lake District, followingchanges to EU subsidy regimes.65

The challenge now is to link these twoissues together, and look at how theLake District landscape could, andshould, evolve over time. Land management practices can help with climate change mitigation and adaptation,but there is a pressing need for a system of reward for land managerswho take action. First steps to doingthis include:

Better understanding of climatechange impacts and adaptation:Natural England’s work on climatechange impacts in the Cumbria HighFells Joint Character Area66 has begunto map climate change futures for theLake District. But more research isneeded about how to improve adaptation to climate change. For example, some species will onlysurvive by shifting their habitat upwards– but this upward movement may beprevented by agricultural practices,such as grazing animals. An approachbased on ‘ecosystem services’, whichassesses the benefits that the naturalenvironment provides, could bebeneficial.67 Mapping the ecosystemservices provided by the Lake Districtwould help to place a value on naturalassets, find ways to support them, andreward land managers for their role.

Working with the farming community:There is a need to work with the NFUand other farming organisations to buildan understanding of climate change


35

Evolving landscapes

into ongoing discussions about thefuture of Lake District farming. Both the‘Farming Futures’ initiative68, and Defra’sRural Climate Change Forum, couldhelp with this. Cumbria Farm Link, runby CREA, delivers environmental adviceto farmers alongside farm business programmes, and is increasinglypromoting energy management andmicrogeneration. Dartmoor NationalPark Authority is also working with farmbusinesses to encourage climatechange adaptation and mitigation.

A strategic look at resource futures:The Lake District’s water and woodlandresources and agricultural land are likelyto be in higher demand as climatechange takes hold. A strategic look atresource issues would be valuable indetermining future responses. Should Cumbria aim for more local foodproduction, for example? Work of thissort is already underway through theCumbria Futures Forum. Again, thiscould be done through an ecosystemservices approach.

Funding for carbon lock-in: Projectsthat preserve and enhance peatland,woodland and other carbon ‘sinks’ helpto lock in carbon. However, this is notgenerally recognized in funding for biodiversity and conservation. There is a need to look at ways in which carbonsequestration in the Lakes could berewarded, both through existing fundingschemes for biodiversity and natureprotection; and through new initiativeslike the Northwest Climate Fund.

Above:

Grazing sheep at Town Head Farm, Grasmere

36

Footnotes

1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2007: The physical science basis, summary for policymakers, IPCC, Geneva,

February 2007

2 UK Climate Impacts Programme: The climate of the UK and recent trends, December 2007 p12

3 The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review, HM Treasury / Cambridge University Press, 2007 p3




7 Climate Change Impact Assessment and Response Strategy: Cumbria High Fells Character Area,Consultation draft, Natural England, April 2008

8 Figures from the Moors for the Future project, www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk

9 See www.fixthefells.co.uk

10 Cumbria Business Environment Network

11 The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review, HM Treasury / Cambridge University Press, 2007 chapters 4 and 5

12 Climate Change Impact Assessment and Response Strategy: Cumbria High Fells Character Area, Consultation draft, Natural England, April 2008, p29

13 Climate Change Impact Assessment and Response Strategy: Cumbria High Fells Character Area, Consultation draft, Natural England, April 2008, p35

14 For discussion of the effects of climate change on tourism, see Climate Change and the Visitor Economy: Challenges and opportunities for England’s

Northwest, Sustainability Northwest and UKCIP, 2006.



17 The Economic Implications of Climate Change Legislation for Cumbria, report by Quantum Consulting, draft May 2008, commissioned by Cumbria

Vision in conjunction with the Cumbria Strategic Partnership Climate Change Task Group in order to understand economic impact and opportunities

that Cumbria can benefit from.

18 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2007: The physical science basis, summary for policymakers, IPCC, Geneva,

February 2007

19 “UK emissions figures down, but ‘much more must be done’: Benn”. Defra press release, 31 January 2008

20 NWRA Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study, report to the NorthWest Regional Assembly by AEA Energy and Environment, August 2007

21 The National Park covers around a third of the area of Cumbria, but is home to less than a tenth of Cumbria’s population.

22 NWRA Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study, report to the NorthWest Regional Assembly by AEA Energy and Environment, August 2007

p38; see also The Economic Implications of Climate Change Legislation for Cumbria, report by Quantum Consulting, commissioned by Cumbria

Vision in conjunction with the Cumbria Strategic Partnership Climate Change Task Group, which gives similar figures.

23 NWRA Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study, report to the NorthWest Regional Assembly by AEA Energy and Environment, August 2007 p40


Vision in conjunction with the Cumbria Strategic Partnership Climate Change Task Group

25 GWP or ‘global warming potential’: each greenhouse gas has a different capacity to cause global warming, depending on its radiative properties, its

molecular weight and its residence time in the atmosphere. The GWP index developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assesses

the relative global warming effect of different gases, relative to CO2. Methane, for example, has 23 times the GWP of carbon dioxide, so a small

amount of methane emitted has a significant effect. See ‘Climate Change: The UK Programme 2006’ (HM Government 2006) for further explanation.

26 See www.transitiontowns.org

27 See www.naturaleconomynorthwest.co.uk/about.php

28 Information from the Tourism and Conservation partnership – it has 222 members, out of an estimated 2500 direct tourism businesses.

29 The Lake District Economic Futures study estimate that 59% of economic activity in the park is linked to tourism

30 Lake District: Economic Futures Study, Regeneris Consulting for the Northwest Development Agency, June 2004

31 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

32 Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

33 Communities and Local Government

37

34 Energy market regulator



36 Prosperity and Protection: The economic impact of National Parks in the Yorkshire and Humber Region, Council for National Parks, 2006

37 Local Development Framework Integrated Core Strategy: Preferred Options, Draft to Authority, LDNPA, April 2008, p62

38 ENPAA position statement on transport, 2007, p1

39 ENPAA position statement on transport, 2007, p2

40 for details of transport in other National Parks, see Tackling Traffic: Sustainable leisure transport in National Parks, CNP, 2006; and Good Practice

Guide: Integrated transport measures in National Parks, Defra, DfT and Welsh Assembly Government, 2005

41 Climate Change Impact Assessment and Response Strategy: Cumbria High Fells Character Area, Consultation draft, Natural England, April 2008

42 Moors for the Future project, www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk



44 Grid 2.0: The next generation, Green Alliance, 2006

45 See www.visitnorthyorkshiremoors.co.uk/content.php?nID=560

46 www.mea.org.uk

47 See www.salixfinance.co.uk for details of such funds working in the public sector.

48 See the Energy Saving Trust briefing note Energy services and renewable energy, EST May 2005; and Making ESCOs Work: Guidance and advice

on setting up and delivering an ESCO, London Energy Partnership, February 2007

49 The so-called Merton Rule – see www.themertonrule.org

50 The Joule Centre has already done work to map potential hydro resources. www.joulecentre.org

51 See www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/your_travel/buses/YourNextBus+Introduction.htm

52 Lake District: Economic Futures Study, Regeneris Consulting for the Northwest Development Agency, June 2004, page 98

53 Lake District: Economic Futures Study, Regeneris Consulting for the Northwest Development Agency, June 2004, page IV

54 The Local Development Framework suggests that 8.6ha of employment land could be needed in the National Park between now and 2021. Several

interviewees in this study pointed to the lack of suitable employment premises.

55 Under the Radar, Commission for Rural Communities and the Live/Work network, February 2006. A similar argument is made by NESTA: Rural

Innovation, NESTA, December 2007

56 www.digitalpeninsula.com

57 www.fellsanddales.org.uk

58 www.distinctlycumbrian.co.uk

59 www.lake-district.gov.uk/index/understanding/facts_and_figures.htm

60 Defra research on pro-environmental behaviours, www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/social/behaviour/index.htm

61 www.cpi.cam.ac.uk

62 See www.cumbriaben.com and www.green-business.co.uk for details of these schemes.

63 Full-page advertisement in The Observer travel supplement, 20 Jan 2008

64 The Economics of Aviation: A North West England Perspective, John Whitelegg for CPRE, 2003

65 See for example, National Trust work on future of hill farming and Leader+ Programme; also Hill Farming Matters, briefing 599, RuSource,

the rural information network, February 2008 (briefing from a Fells and Dales Leader+ programme and Carnegie UK Trust initiative on sustaining

hill farming communities)

66 Climate Change Impact Assessment and Response Strategy: Cumbria High Fells Character Area, Consultation draft, Natural England, April 2008

67 Defra research on ecosystem services is at www.ecosystemservices.org.uk

68 Farming Futures is a collaboration project between the NFU, CLA, Applied Research Forum, Forum for the Future and Defra.

www.farmingfutures.co.uk

38

Annexes

1 List of case studiesLangdale Hotel and Timeshare www.langdale.co.uk

Eskdale biomass West Cumbria Wood Products

Esthwaite Green Link www.egl.org.uk

Outward Bound Ullswater www.outwardbound.org.uk

Sundog Energy www.sundogenergy.co.uk

Mark Brierley, Cycling Development Officer for Cumbria County Council

Foulshaw Moss nature reserve, Cumbria Wildlife Trust www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/cumbria

University of Cumbria www.cumbria.ac.uk

Rod Hughes, architect, ad.hoc associates www.adhoc-associates.co.uk

Elder Grove bed and breakfast, Ambleside www.eldergrove.co.uk

2 List of intervieweesIan Crosher, Natural England

Jenny Rogers, University of Cumbria

Neil Cumberlidge, Government Office NorthWest

Steve Kempster, Lancaster University

Gill Fenna, Quantum strategy

Colin Nineham, Eden District Council

Martin Varley, Friends of the Lake District

John Gilliland, Defra Rural Climate Change Forum

Claire Chapman, Tourism and Conservation Partnership

John Darlington, National Trust

Vicky Darrall, LDNPA

Ian Stephens, Cumbria Tourism

Jack Ellerby, NorthWest Rural Affairs Forum

Laurence Conway, South Lakeland District Council

Sonny Khan, Maggie Mason and Margaret Sanders, South Lakes Action on Climate Change

Paul Hamblin, English National Park Authorities Association

Nick Jones, Cumbria Futures Forum

Nigel Catterson, Cumbria Futures Forum

Peter Bullard, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

John Barwise, Green Business Forum

Kate Rawles, Outdoor Philosophy / University of Cumbria

Phil Davies, Cumbria Action for Sustainability

Alex McKenzie, Cumbria County Council

Rachel Osborn, Carlisle District Council

Keith Jones, Forestry Commission

Simon Sjenitzer, Cumbria Vision

Paul Needham, Environment Agency

Mark Atherton, North West Development Agency

Jim Lowther and David Horton-Fawkes, Lowther Estates

Geoff Cooper, Adventure and Environmental Awareness

39

3 Sources of advice and supportCumbria Action for Sustainability www.cafs.org.ukEnables community groups, households and businesses to take local action for environmental sustainability in Cumbria.

Cumbria Business Environment Network www.cumbriaben.org.ukOffers free environmental advice, audits and awards to help businesses.

Carbon Trust www.carbontrust.co.ukWorks with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies. Offers interest-free loans to companies for energy efficiency improvements.

Cumbria Energy Efficiency Advice Centre www.energyinfo.org.uk. Provides free, impartial energy efficiency advice to households, and grants for insulation measures.

Tourism and Conservation Partnership www.ourstolookafter.co.ukWorks with tourism and related businesses, encouraging both fundraising for landscape conservation, and the development of environmentally sustainable practices within the industry.

Cumbria Green Business Forum www.cgbf.co.ukA business network. Members share best practice to improve their environmental performance, and campaign forimprovements in environmental services provision across the County.

Lake District National Park Authority Sustainable Development Fund www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/index/living_in/sustdev_fund.htmA grant scheme to support projects that combine economic, social and environmental benefits and have positive impacton future generations. Encourages applications from projects addressing climate change.

Voluntary Action Cumbria www.ruralcumbria.org.ukThe Rural Community Council for Cumbria, working with people and communities to improve the quality of life. Offerssmall grants to community groups.

Act On CO2 www.direct.gov.uk/actonco2A government campaign offering advice and information on tackling climate change. Includes a carbon calculator whichpeople can use to calculate their carbon footprint.

3 Photography CreditsCharlie HedleyCumbria Wildlife TrustDavid WillisElder GroveEskdale YHAEsthwaite Green LinkFoulshaw MossFreshwater Biological Association (FBS), from an original illustration by David LewinsFriends of the Lake DistrictHelen ReynoldsJames CookKaren BardenLDNPANick LancasterPete BarronRebecca WillisRod HughesSi HomfraySundogTony WestWestmorland Gazette

Lake District National Park AuthorityMurley MossOxenholme RoadKendalCumbriaLA9 7RLTel: 01539 724555 Fax: 01539 740822 Email: [email protected]

In support of the conservation priciples of the National ParkAuthority, the paper used in this publication is recycled.

responding to climate change in the national parkit puts forward an agenda for a low-carbon lake...

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