Lake District conservation project looks for new funding

Video report by Hannah McNulty

An organisation that carries out repairs and maintains paths across the Lake District National Park faces an uncertain future due to declining funding. 

All of the work carried out by Fix the Fells is funded by grants and donations. The group will have received £1.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the time it comes to an end in June. This represents approximately 45% of the annual funding required to operate the group.

But the funding is coming to an end because of Brexit and the UK's departure from the European Union.  

Fix the Fells Programme Manager Joanne Backshall said: “We hope we can continue this vital work when our current European grant funding ends in June this year. We are looking for additional funding to meet a significant looming shortfall.

“Without our work, the Lake District fells would quickly deteriorate to the scarred landscape of the 1980s and 90’s, when gullies more than 90 feet wide and 12 feet wide were clearly visible along rights of way across the fells. Increasing recreation, visitor numbers and severe weather events would soon take their toll and result in similar damage appearing.”

The government says it has introduced an alternative funding opportunity for projects that have lost EU funding because of Brexit. 

A spokesperson said: “The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will match EU funding and gives local places control of how money is spent, removes unnecessary bureaucracy and enables local communities to invest in the priorities that matter to them.”

In 2022 more than 100 Fix the Fells rangers and volunteers repaired erosion on 30 different paths all over the Lake District, including Scafell Pike, Helvellyn, Grasmere and Buttermere, clocking up 2,597 working days.

A new evaluation report states that the Fix the Fells project has a “significant positive impact on the experience of visitors to the fells through improvements to the visual landscape and to the quality of walks.”

Joanne Backshall said: “The report highlights the significant benefits of the work of the Fix the Fells rangers and volunteers, and illustrates the importance of their work to the natural beauty and economic vitality of the Lake District National Park.”

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