FARMERS in South Lakeland could reap the benefits of a closer working relationship with the Lake District National Park Authority.

The organisation has approved a detailed report about developing a positive working relationship with farming communities to ensure effective management and protection of the landscape while ensuring a sustainable profitable existence for Lake District farmers.

After lengthy discuss-ions at a meeting in Windermere, members of the LDNPA’s Strategy and Vision Comm-ittee supported — by eight votes to two — a recommendation that both sides should do all they could to ‘work together to build a mut-ual understanding and appreciation of what we do’.

And Kendal farmer John Geldard says it is important for the auth-ority to recognise the essential contribution made by the region’s farmers.

“Nobody cares for the Lake District in the way that farmers do,” he said. “No organisation could afford to pay people to look after it. Farmers are the custodians of the land and the reason it looks like it does.”

As chairman of the National Sheep Association, Mr Geldard bel-ieves that in recent history the destocking of Cumbria’s hills has been a big mistake, and he feels that organis-ations such as the LDNPA should support more sheep on the fells.

“We have seen sheep removed from the hills and it has gone over the top.

"There might have been some overgrazing but they have taken far too many sheep off. Environmental conc-erns have been given far too much priority over agriculture.

"I am not suggesting farmers have all the answers regarding the food security issues which the world now has, but they have a very important part to play.

"There will be 70 million people in the UK by 2026 and sheep on the hills are part of the equation to solving this.”

Director of Park Services Bob Cartwright produced the report after being told that some elements of the farming community thought the national park “was not on their side”.

But Mr Cartwright’s report said that, while this was far from the truth, people had to realise that “the struc-ture of farming is cha-nging and its economic viability is unpredic-table.”

Currently agriculture and farming directly employ about 13,000 people locally and the physical and cultural landscape created by the farming industry acts as a major draw for the 15.8 million visitors to the Lake District each year.

“Our commitment remains to support farmers to adapt to cha-nging circumstances and work closely with farmers to identify and resolve issues affecting farming locally. And to do this by supporting sustainable land management, which brings environmental, social and economic benefits,” the report concluded.

“Farming is essential to the Vision for the Lake District National Park.

“We cannot manage, protect or enhance the national park without skilled farmers and land managers.”