Any building or restoration has a huge effect on the Lake District National Park. We have to balance the demands of sustaining a prosperous economy and vibrant communities with the needs of the spectacular landscape.

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What's involved in planning?

Cottage window at Hesket Newmarket copyright Michael Turner>

Policies - Policy planners work with communities and others with an interest in the National Park to shape policies to guide future development of land and buildings. Read about our current policies and help shape future ones like the Local Development Framework.

Decisions - Development Control planners use the policies and work with the public, architects and developers to make sure any planning applications fit in with our policies. We receive around 1,800 planning applications each year, of which over 80 per cent are approved by the Development Control Committee.

Enforcement - Enforcement planners help people understand our policies and implement them correctly. If people choose to ignore policies then enforcement becomes necessary. However the vast majority of planning applications reach a satisfactory conclusion.