Boss Richard Leafe said the site must change to merit continued public funding

He said if parks are seen as exclusive to one group, they 'start to lose relevance'

A report has said national parks are not doing enough to make people welcome

Lake District National Park Authority reportedly facing High Court judicial review

This is over its refusal to ban four-wheel drive vehicles from some of its fell trails

The head of the Lake District National Park Authority has said he wants to attract a greater diversity of visitors amid concerns swathes of the population feel excluded.

Richard Leafe, the Cumbria park's chief executive, said the Unesco World Heritage site must change to merit continued public funding.

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He said if such parks are seen as exclusive to one group, they 'start to lose their relevance and therefore the very reason for calling it a national park'.

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Richard Leafe, the Cumbria park's chief executive, said the Unesco World Heritage site (pictured, Scafell Pike) must change to merit continued public funding

A Government-commissioned report into the future of Britain's protected landscapes, published in September, criticised national parks for not doing enough to make people welcome.

Mr Leafe told Sky News: 'We are deficient in terms of young people, we are deficient in terms of black and minority ethnic communities and we are not particularly well-visited by those who are less able in terms of their mobility.

'Our challenge is to see what we can do to reverse that, to encourage people from broader backgrounds and a wider range of personal mobilities into the national park to be able to benefit in the same way as those other groups do.'

Mr Leafe (pictured) said if parks are seen as exclusive to one group, they 'start to lose their relevance'

But this may be an uphill task, with the authority reportedly facing a High Court judicial review in the new year about its refusal to ban four-wheel drive vehicles from some fell trails, while Keswick Town Council has passed a vote of no confidence over the creation of a tarmac path through woodland.

Mr Leafe's comments were met by stiff opposition online.

One woman posted on Twitter: 'Beatrix Potter and romantic poets are part of the history of the Lake District ffs.

'Leave it alone! It doesn't need more visitors, diverse or otherwise, it's always rammed when I've been.'

Another woman wrote: 'Awoken to the news that the Lake District is now racist. Give me f***ing strength.'

And a man added: 'Saw the Lake District trending and thought ''oh no, it's passed away'', but then realised its been set upon by political correctness. It's nature and it's not always possible to make it inclusive or diverse.'

Britain's Got Talent Paul Potts tweeted: 'I've walked along the path that LDNP want to tarmac. The stone path wasn't natural it was a former train trackbed. It can be kept to the same standard with tarmac & be accessible to disabled people.'

Mr Leafe's comments were met by stiff opposition online, with one Twitter user posting: 'It doesn't need more visitors, diverse or otherwise, it's always rammed when I've been'

It comes after the National Trust announced it was considering plans to ban cars from parts of the Lake District as the Cumbrian lake is being 'loved to death' by tourists.

Kate Willshaw, officer for the Friends of the Lake District, claims there are 'honeypots' such as Bowness, Keswick and Windermere in the Lakes, which attract floods of tourists and massive congestion as a result.

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She said: 'They attract people because they are an easy win. You can get to them without driving on single-track roads, and the views are magnificent.'

Graphic shows where the parking restrictions would be imposed in the Lake District and the neighbouring areas popular with holiday-makers

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The national park authority (LDNPA) is working with the National Trust, which owns 20 per cent of the Lake District, for 'traffic management in Seathwaite'.

Tourists abandon their cars in this Cumbrian hamlet before climbing England's highest peak Scafell Pike.

Plans suggest Seathwaite residents would be able to use their cars within the proposed zones, according to the Times.

The Lake District saw 14.8million visitors in 2012 and this rose to 17.3m within three years, according to figures by the LDNPA. And the Lakes had 19.4m visitors last year.

The National Trust are in discussion with the Highways Agency, residents and the parish council, and will consider 'other locations' of the car-free zones.

Cars are abandoned in Seathwaite as visitors go hiking up England's highest peak. A local farmer has said a 'normal Friday' consists of cars parking from the entrance of their house all the way down the road - making them keen for the proposed car-free zones

Julian Glover, journalist at the Evening Standard, said this proves the days when Alfred Wainwright (pictured with Sonia Harvey at the Lakes) wrote his Lake District walking guides where he would set off from Kendal by bus have 'long gone'

A local farmer said: 'Congestion is horrendous and getting much worse. There was a fire in one of the houses near us and the fire engine couldn't get down, there were so many cars parked.'

They added how a 'normal Friday' consists of cars parking from the entrance of their house all the way down the road - making them keen for the proposed car-free zones.

Stopping drivers from parking at one of the main entrances to Scafell Pike would 'be a big blow to ramblers', a walker who parks at Seathwaite said.

Jeremy Barlow, Assistant Director of National Trust Lake District said: 'The Seathwaite valley is under pressure – it's a popular place to park if you plan to take in the beauty of Scafell Pike, Great Gable and the other high fells in the Lakes.

'This can cause access problems for those who live there including farmers, and it could restrict an emergency vehicle.'

He admitted the issue is 'complex' and 'we don't yet have a solution' but encouraged visitors to read tips before visiting.

Yachts are moored on Lake Windermere, which lies in Cumbria's Lake District, and attracts people because it is an 'easy win', says Ms Willshaw

But Ms Willshall claimed this problem is being felt in Cornwall, Devon, the North York Moors and Snowdonia.

This comes just after Councillor Lywood, from Keswick Town Council in the Lake District, accused the LDNPA of putting tourism ahead of protecting the landscape.

He asked: 'How can this body give more than a cursory consideration to zip wires over Thirlmere, the proliferation of 4x4s in Little Langdale, a Gondola up to Whinlatter and now a wide-strip of scarring tarmac beneath Blencathra?'

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Friends of the Lake District will present research about the car ban at a conference in Kendal, Cumbria, on Tuesday. It will offer alternatives like electric bikes, boats and buses.

Managing Director of Cumbria Tourism Gill Haigh, said: 'The Lake District and wider county is visited and enjoyed by millions each year.

'When judged by any national or international standards, the Lake District really does not have a traffic problem.

'Very occasionally, in certain limited areas of the Lake District, emergency works on the road network, rail disruption and limited parking can combine with a peak travel day and so inevitably there can be added pressure but even on these exceptional days you can always find quiet places to visit.

'The rest of the time traffic flow is perfectly normal, as those of us who live and work here can attest.

'That isn't to say that there isn't progress to be made on sustainable transport and reducing carbon initiatives and Cumbria Tourism support the Lake District National Park's Sustainable Travel Framework ambitions to reduce carbon and support the visitor experience through the development of further sustainable transport opportunities.

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'Our recent campaign with the rail industry is a great example which resulted in the equivalent of a 1.3 million mile reduction in car journeys within the county.'