A RESIDENT who has lived in the Lake District for 30 years claims the area is 'no longer a nice place to live.' 

David Robinson, who lives in Little Langdale, blamed this on the state of the roads which has been caused by 'uncontrolled' tourist traffic. 

Mr Robinson penned a letter that was sent to this publication and Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron, who he accused of not having a plan. 

In turn, Mr Farron said the state of the roads came down to funding. 

Mr Robinson wrote: "Our roads are in a dreadful state of repair and getting worse by the day. 

"They are littered with deep potholes / broken up sections of road / blocked roadside drains etc far too many to record or report.

"More particularly they are unsafe as cars seek to avoid deep potholes and meet oncoming traffic - it's a disgrace.

"How on earth can this be classed as a World Heritage Site.

"No doubt the damage is caused in the main by uncontrolled mass tourist traffic. The authorities including the LDNPA and yourself do not seem to have any plan as to how to  reduce tourist traffic on our road network or fund the public services to deal with same.

"Sadly any such plan should have been introduced years ago and it is locals who suffer because of this failure. As a permanent resident of 30 years (and as  I have said to you on many occasions) our area of the Lakes is no longer a nice place to live - it has become a play / theme park."

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Mr Farron replied: "Our roads and local services are simply not funded to take into account for a fact that Cumbria welcomes three million visitors every year.

"This is a point which has been made repeatedly to Conservative government ministers by myself and many others but has been ignored.

“Meanwhile we desperately need to see investment into public transport to make swapping the car for the train a viable alternative."

He said that he backed a passing loop on the Lakes Line which would see trains running every half hour last year, but there had been no response from government. 

A Lake District National Park Authority spokesperson said authorities in charge of the area, such as themselves, the two unitary authorities, the police, and the tourist board, were part of a partnership called the Strategic Visitor Management Group. 

“We appreciate that there continues to be visitor and traffic management issues in areas of the Lake District, and that these can impact on our communities, businesses, and the visitor experience. The solutions for these are not quick fixes and will be developed with all stakeholders including the community, businesses, and visitors over the coming years," the spokesperson said.