MP puts his suport behind Fix It for Lakes fells

8:55am Friday 11th July 2008

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A LOCAL MP hopes to use his influence in government to rescue the Lake District’s crumbling fell paths.

Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, has adopted the Fix the Fells cause and plans to lobby government to raise funds for the project.

Fix the Fells is a partnership that works to prevent further erosion of the Lake District’s upland paths through work carried out by contractors, staff and volunteers.

The five-year scheme has already resulted in the successful repair of 102 Lakeland paths thanks to a £2.5 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. But the project is an ongoing scheme and another £5 million is needed if the remaining 74 paths are to be repaired.

“I’ve been asking for the Government to look again at how they pay single farm payments,” said Mr Farron. “There are issues about where the money is allocated. Sometimes the very wealthy land owners will get more than £100,000 which is a lot of money to give to people who don’t need it. We could be investing in poorer farmers while also supporting schemes like Fix the Fells.

“We should be top slicing some of that money to reinvest in the hill farmers themselves, poorer farmers and to allow for Fix the Fells. An awful lot of the people involved are hill farmers and it helps keep a lot of farmers’ children in work. It would be a particularly useful thing in terms of keeping these people in work.”

Paths such as the one to Place Fell from Boredale Hause, near Patterdale, where erosion and rainwater has washed the path away, and Greenhead Gill, above Grasmere, are in urgent need of fixing.

After visiting a Fix the Fells scheme on Red Screes, above Ambleside, on Fathers’ Day, Mr Farron is keen to see the partnership continue.

“Just going up there and seeing the visitor demand the fells have and incredible pull, it’s important that we keep them. People come to the Lake District because it’s accessible and Fix the Fells ensures that.”

Cherie Fox, communications manager for the Fix the Fells project, said Mr Farron was acting as an ambassador for the Fix the Fells scheme.

“He’s hoping to lobby government for money for us. The problem is that money runs out in 2011 and we are not sure we will be able to get further funding. It’s an ongoing scheme so we will always need money.”

Fix the Fells is a partnership between the Lake District National Park Authority, National Trust, the Tourism and Conservation Partnership, Natural England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Friends of the Lake District and the Ramblers Association.

For further information on Fix the Fells visit: www.fixthefells.co.uk.