National Park 'could be extended'

The Lake District National Park should be extended to the east, according to a report commissioned by the government's rural advisers the Countryside Agency.

The area was examined to see whether it could be designated as a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

As a result, a number of areas have been earmarked as meeting the legal criteria, while others are proposed for further study.

The findings will be considered by the Countryside Agency board in early May.

Public consultation

Rosemary Budd, from the Countryside Agency, said: "The agency has always said that the landscape in this area is of an extremely high quality but has never been designated.

"Last year, we asked officers to see which land may be worthy of designation - by that we mean which areas meet the legal criteria either as National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

"Consultants have come up with broad tracks of land which, in their opinion, meet the legal criteria in relation to the quality of natural beauty and opportunity for open air recreation."

If the agency decides to look into any proposal for designation, the next step would be to draw a draft boundary for the areas concerned and then conduct an extensive public consultation.