COUNTRYSIDE campaigners and MPs have condemned the Department for Transport (DfT) for failing to ban passenger flights over the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national parks.

The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) and the Commons transport select committee criticised the DfT’s refusal to limit the number of aircraft flying above the parks.

The row follows research commissioned by the CPRE which showed peace and quiet was one of the main national park attractions.

In a report acknowledging this, the MPs’ committee said: “Tranquillity is a key factor in sensitive areas such as national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.”

But the DfT said that was a ‘subjective concept’ which would mean different things to different people.

Ralph Smyth, the CPRE’s senior transport campaigner, said: “The Government’s response seems to be rather dismissive of the work we have done.

“In national parks, there aren’t many other factors affecting tranquillity; that’s why having planes flying overhead is particularly intr-usive.

“Unchecked increases in flights over sensitive areas such as national parks would progressively destroy the peace and quiet that make these areas special.”

The DfT responded: “While Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and national parks are afforded certain statutory protection, this does not extend to precluding overflight by aircraft. In practice it would be impractical to prevent widespread overflying of areas of outstanding natural beauty or of national parks without affecting reasonable levels of access to our airports.”

Prospective Conservative candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale Gareth McKeever said: “I’ve never heard any low flying commercial aircraft over the Lake District.

“So as far as I’m concerned there doesn’t appear to be a problem.”

He added: “I believe the Lakes should be protected but not preserved in aspic and to ban aircraft from flying overhead would be a step too far.”