The Wasdale Valley faces some very significant challenges due to the number of visitors it attracts. There have been many conversations on how the situation in the valley might be improved.

The Wasdale Citizens’ Panel was commissioned by Action with Communities in Cumbria, who were asked by the Lake District National Park to meet with Wasdale residents and explore options for improving visitor management in Wasdale.

The panel aimed to bring together a group of those who live and work in the valley to build on this work and answer the question:

‘‘How do we get the best out of our visitors in
Wasdale, so we thrive as a community?”

All households in the Wasdale valley in West Cumbria received an invitation to join the Citizens’ Panel. The panel was held over 7 sessions in the summer of 2024 and 18 people attended.

The Panel produced 9 prioritised recommendations.