Richard Leafe, the Lake District national park chief executive

The boss of England’s biggest national park is looking forward to the organisation’s 60th birthday, despite facing Government cuts.

Richard Leafe, chief executive of the Lake District National Park Authority, says cuts in services should not be allowed to detract from an exciting year.

He said: “On the face of it, 2011 doesn’t look very promising for the national park and the authority. We know we have a reduced budget and that will mean a painful reduction in our size and consequently on some of the work we can do.

“This position is shared by all of our public-sector partners that together with business and voluntary groups form the Lake District National Park Partnership on whom we rely to take forward our collective plan for the park.

“But despite this background our challenge is to make 2011 a great year for progress in our communities and I’m optimistic about this. We will see progress with many projects such as a new smart travel card for public transport, the Go Lakes card.”

He also pointed to plans to improve water quality in Windermere, establish new events in the park and improve the visitor centre at Brockhole on the shore of Windermere, including a bigger jetty to allow large boats to moor there.

“Finally, next year is a very special year for the Lake District national park as it’s our 60th birthday. And it’s still looking so good for such a great age I hear you say. We’re thinking up some great ways to celebrate this fact and I hope everyone will join in,” Mr Leafe added.