IT'S New Year and the attacks on the Lake District continue relentlessly.

It was sad to see the chairman of the Lake District National Park Authority, Peter Allen, a man with an impeccable Lake District pedigree, being an apologist for the wreckers (Gazette, January 2, ‘We have had difficult decisions to make’).

It was, of course, unsurprising to read of Richard Leafe’s latest wheeze, "inclusivity", which will undoubtedly be used to provide a fig leaf for more "Disneyfication". Once a policy has been declared that those with mobility problems have the right to enjoy exactly the same views as the able bodied, you can bet that a plan for a funicular railway up Helvellyn won’t be far behind.

The fig-leaf approach to planning has already been given a precedent by the Honister zip wire, so we can expect more of the same. Of course, an additional treat from the top of the mountain will be the view of the Lowther houseboats steaming around the lake at Grasmere.

However, amid this continuing assault, one heartening sign for 2020 is the 2,000 ordinary people from around the country who have put their hands in their pockets to fund legal action [by the Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement] against the park authority.

Mr Allen is rightly proud that his grandfather led the campaign for the creation of the national park. I wonder whose side he would be on today?

Graham Kilner

Ambleside