Lake District National Park Partnership
3 December 2012
Agenda Item: 4(d)
Page 1
LAKE DISTRICT STILL WATERS PARTNERSHIP
1
SUMMARY
1.1
This is a report from the latest The Lake District Still Waters Partnership (LDSWP)
Steering Groups quarterly meeting, held on 15 October 2012. It is also a summary of
the 10th Anniversary Celebration event for the Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration
Programme combined with the LDSWP Ninth Annual Liaison Meeting on 16th
November 2012.
Recommendation that a
the Partnership:
notes the activity and updates since the previous
meeting on 31 July 2012
2
BACKGROUND
2.1
LDSWP is an association of organisations involved in the understanding and
management of the lakes and tarns of Cumbria. The Lake District's Lakes and Tarns are
collectively an internationally important ecological, aesthetic, recreational and cultural
resource: our vision is to protect, and where necessary enhance, this resource by
promoting sustainable management and use of these waters and their surrounding
catchments.
The LDSWP comprises the following organisations: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology,
Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Freshwater Biological Association, Lake
District National Park Authority, National Trust, Natural England & United Utilities
2.2
2.3
The last meeting of the LDSWP was held on 15th October 2012. Full notes are available
on request. Main points discussed were:
After two years as Chair of the Still Waters Partnership, Dr Mike Dobson of the
Freshwater Biological Association is standing down. Jeremy Westgarth of the
Environment Agency will take over as Chair from 01 January 2013

Confirmation that Ullswater has been chosen as the pilot for the Whole Valley
Planning Project and this compliments the Still Waters Partnerships intention that
Ullswater is the next focus for the catchment based approach to addressing water
quality issues.

An update was provided on the progress of the 19 partnership projects Windermere
Reflections are running.
Special Qualities, Science and Solutions, 16th November 2012 – a conference
celebrating 10 years of the Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme combined with
the LDSWP Ninth Annual Liaison Meeting
 The event was held at Braithwaite Victory Hall, a community run hall at the heart of
the Bassenthwaite catchment
 Some 80 delegates attended the conference representing a broad spectrum of
interests from Government agencies, NGOs, achademics, anglers, Rivers Trusts,
United Utilities and local volunteers.
 There were two clear messages:
1. there are still water quality problems with the majority of our lakes failing to
meet Water Framework Directive ‘good’ standard and this needs to be dealt
with.
2. there are things that are being done by everybody from large organisations
to volunteers and private individuals. We looked at practical examples not
Lake District National Park Partnership
3 December 2012


Agenda Item: 4(d)
Page 2
just of problems but of how different organisations, groups and individuals
are dealing with these issues to find solutions eg catchment sensitive farming
and volunteer monitoring initiatives.
The event acknowledging that partnership working at the catchment scale is the key
– no one organisation or group has overall responsibility so it is essential to work
together
This wasn’t just about Bassenthwaite, it was about finding solutions to improve the
health of all our lakes
3
PARTNERSHIP PLAN CONTEXT
3.1
The LDSWP plays a key role in this by advising the LDNPP on those actions that are
most likely to impact water quality and ecology of the lakes and tarns in the region.
Through the expertise of its members it can facilitate delivery of The Partnership's Plan
in a way that is of greatest advantage to the region's water bodies. It does this by
monitoring activities, providing feedback and encouraging authorities charged with
delivery always to consider impacts of their actions on the water body into which a
catchment will drain. To this end, the actions within The Partnership's Plan that are of
particular interest to the LDSWP are not confined to those explicitly relating to water
bodies, but also to those with a significant impact on land use in their catchments.
4
PROPOSALS
4.1
The whole catchment approach is maintained. The LDSWP will continue to deliver a
strategic programme of landscape scale projects within the National Park supporting
the Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme Five Year Business Plan
Framework (2010 -2015) and the Windermere Catchments Restoration Programme
Five Year Business Plan (2010 -2015) including Windermere Reflections. The plans
focus on the delivery of existing priority projects related to lake restoration (reducing
phosphates, reducing sediments, protect biodiversity, sustainable land management
and controlling invasive species).
The LDSWP will also fully support the Whole Valley Planning approach which will be
piloted on Ullswater.
5
NEXT STEPS
5.1
Next meeting due February 2013
Author/Post
Date Written
Helen Titterington, Interim Lakes Manager. Environment
Agency
22nd November 2012