The present Yorkshire Dales national park boundary in Mallerstang

Some of the best walking country in the North-West of England could be afforded further protection with the extension to two national parks.

The move was put on hold while legal arguments about the new South Downs national park were decided. Now, the Government’s outdoor body says it will go ahead with consultations on including more land in the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales parks.

Natural England made the announcement today. Its predecessor, the Countryside Agency, agreed four years ago to look at extending the two parks into the ‘bridge’ area between them. This would remove the anomaly of, for instance, half of the Howgills being in the Yorkshire Dales national park and half outside it – a legacy of old county boundaries but at odds with the topography and natural environment of the discrete range of hills.

Wild Boar Fell would gain national-park protection under the plans

The legal uncertainty of whether a national park should contain more than one type of landscape character was resolved by the decision to include the Western Weald in the new South Downs park. Natural England says this proves its approach was right and it can now proceed with the extensive consultations necessary for the enlargement of the two north-western parks.

Helen Phillips, the body’s chief executive said: “The work of looking at whether new landscape areas can be included as part of the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national parks remains a high priority for Natural England.

Mary Bourne's Water Cut sculpture overlooking the Mallerstang valley, currently outside the national park

“The legal uncertainties of recent years have caused significant delays and we are looking into how we can progress the project quickly, but thoroughly. We remain committed to holding a full public consultation to allow all stakeholders the opportunity to tell us their views.”

The acting chair of Natural England, Poul Christensen, said: “I am delighted that our work in reviewing parts of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national park boundaries can now continue.

“It is fitting that as we celebrate 60 years of national parks, and all that they have achieved for people and wildlife, we now have a unique opportunity to look at a major expansion of two of England’s most cherished protected areas.”

The law says that a national park must be an extensive tract of countryside that, because of its natural beauty and the opportunities it affords for open air recreation, Natural England considers it especially desirable that legal measures are taken to safeguard it under the provisions of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949.

Specific areas under consideration for inclusion in the bigger parks include:

• Birkbeck Fells to Whinfell, between the eastern boundary of the Lake District and the M6
• Helsington Barrows to Sizergh Fell, south of Kendal and the River Kent and around Levens
• The Northern Howgill Fells
• The Orton Fells, to the North of the Howgills
• Mallerstang and Wild Boar Fell
• Middleton, Barbon and Leck Fells on the Lancashire-Cumbria boundary
• Firbank Fell, near Sedbergh, home of the Quaker monument Fox’s Pulpit
• The Lower Lune Valley and adjacent fells to the West and the Kirkby Lonsdale area
• The area around Cold Cotes, between Ingleton and Clapham.

The proposals are likely to face opposition from landowners in the areas, who would face stiffer planning rules and environmental protection. However, this would be balanced by the increased economic benefits a national park brings.

Eden District Council planners last month rejected a bid by Natural Retreats to build a holiday village of ‘eco-lodges’ in Borrowdale, in the area proposed to be included in a bigger Lake District national park.