MP calls on National Trust to protect the future of Cumbrian hill farming

In Parliament this week, local MP Tim Farron raised the need for the National Trust to protect family farms in Cumbria and not allow them to be sold off as second homes.

Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on the future of the National Trust, Tim said: "The National Trust obviously employs a vast number of people in the Lake district; the jobs of many of them are now at risk, which is deeply concerning.

"It also owns ​a huge amount of land and acts as landlord to dozens and dozens of important hill farmers, who are essential in maintaining the heritage of our landscape.

"The National Trust should do everything it can to act as a landlord that encourages succession on those farms, rather than turning the buildings into second homes or holiday lets.

"Likewise, it should encourage the Government to make sure that, in transitional terms, the payments coming into the farming industry from January onwards encourage the maintenance of the family farm and not a move to ranch-style farming"