The zip wire is planned to start on the crags on the left. Photo: Alan Faulkner CC-BY-ND-2.0
A war of words has broken out over plans for a white-knuckle tourist attraction on a Lake District fell.
Landscape charity the Friends of the Lake District said allowing the proposed 1.2km-long zip-wire ride at Honister would set a precedent for more developments in remote areas.
But Honister Slate Mine, which wants to install the high-adrenaline ride, accused the Friends of wanting to mothball the Lake District and turn it into an area only visited by pensioners.
Lake District National Park Authority’s planning committee is due to decide the application on Wednesday, after delays following the withdrawal of the initial proposals last October followed by the death of Honister boss Mark Weir in a helicopter crash just a few hundred metres from the site in March this year.
Honister Slate Mine wants to build the aerial slide, which would see users descending from crags on Fleetwith Pike to the slate mine below, to complement its via ferrata, which allows non-climbers a taste of adventure tackling the crags using fixed rungs and wires, in a set-up more commonly seen in the Alps.
The mine’s owners were recently fined £15,000 with costs of £13,190 costs plus a £15 surcharge by West Cumbria Magistrates for unlawfully extending the via ferrata into a site of special scientific importance.
Friends’ planning officer Richard Pearse said: “This is a line in the sand proposal in our view. A recreational development of this scale has never before been allowed upon a remote fell such as this.
“It has implications for the entire ethos of the national park. We have major concerns over the impact it would have upon the landscape and general character of the area, and the precedent it would set. There are potentially significant implications for rare wildlife habitats, and the recreational experience of walkers and climbers who use the area currently.”
The Friends said the proposed site is on one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the Lake District, containing wildlife habitats so valuable it has been designated a site of special scientific interest and a special area of conservation – a designation of European significance.
It pointed out objectors to the scheme included the British Mountaineering Council, Campaign for National Parks, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, the Fell and Rock Climbing Club of the Lake District, the Open Spaces Society and the Ramblers.
Natural England, the Government’s statutory advisor on wildlife and landscape, has also objected to the proposal.
But Honister Slate Mine claimed the support of mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington, who ironically is vice-president of the Friends of the Lake District.
The late Mark Weir's partner Jan Wilkinson, second from left, with the petition in favour of the zip-wire
Locals are also lining up in support of the zip-wire plans, with Cumbria Tourism, Keswick Town Council, and Loweswater Parish Council backing the mine owners. Honister Slate Mine, with the late Mr Weir’s partner Jan Wilkinson at the helm, has gathered 11,000 signatures of support and more than 700 letters in favour. It said the Friends organisation has only 223 letters of support.
Company spokesman Ellis Butcher said: “The biggest harm facing this area is if we allow a vocal minority of environmental do-gooders to mothball the Lake District and turn it into a museum visited by pensioners and the ageing only.
“Or worse, a place for recreational snobs where the definition of fun and enjoyment is dictated to us by organisations of non-residents who do not work in tourism and do not depend on a successful tourism pound to earn a living.
“These objectors need to get real about the 21st century, the younger generation and the Lakes economy if they are genuine friends of this area. Young people are not coming to this area in sufficient numbers and unless we show a bit of backbone and convert them now, tourism in this area will nose dive in 10 years.
“That will cause major economic problems, unemployment and lead to closed shops, hotels and businesses.
“We have to come up with ways of getting new younger visitors to love this environment and you can’t do that if all you’re offering them is the same things that they can do anywhere else in the country.
“The Lake District could be a world leader for adventure and instead we’re lagging behind other forward-thinking tourism destinations. If the environmental bodies think this area can economically survive by forever dishing up what we always have done, they are in total denial.
“This is about offering people choice. Anyone who knows anything about tourism will tell you the same – the independent evidence and research to support it all exists.”
The Lake District is an economically depressed area, and Mr Butcher pointed out Mark Weir had reopened and kept going a rare piece of industrial heritage and provided employment for local residents.
“We are trying our hardest to keep England’s last working slate mine alive at the top of a mountain pass,” he said.
The slate mine at the time Mr Weir took it over
“If we weren’t here one of Lakeland’s most important industries would be lost forever. Mining is a 19th century business and it isn’t economically viable to keep us here providing jobs for people. The business of the Lake District in the 21st century is tourism and we need to keep diversifying.
“This area needs to hold its breath and take a big courageous step forward because if it does, it would really help raise the profile of the Lake District across a new audience who think this is not for them.”
The company denied the zip-wire would have the environmental impact the Friends were claiming. It said the slate mine site attracted 120,000 visitors a year and was a noisy industrial area. It has been for centuries due to large-scale mining activities – once one of the area’s biggest exports, it added.
The mine owners stressed those taking part on the zip wire would have to walk 1,000ft up a cliff-face first which, they said, would put off a lot of people. They said at its busiest in the summer there would only ever be a maximum of 57 descents a day – staggered over the course of the day. The development would also help the mine create six new jobs and not have to lay off most of its workforce in winter.
They added: “One accusation has been that the application would damage the environment and a sensitive site and habitat. The damage caused would be smaller than one per cent because for the majority of the zip-wire experience, the participants’ feet wouldn’t be touching the ground.”
Planning officers have not made a recommendation to development control committee members for the Kendal meeting.
Mike Davis
02 September 2011Good balanced argument, i hope the zip wire gets the go-ahead. lets keep the lake district moving forward with the adventure capital. Fingers crossed for wednesday
Terry
02 September 2011I think the zip wire is a brilliant idea .....for Blackpool or Alton Towers and I might even go on it if it was built there. It's a diabolical idea for the Lakeland Fells which are set aside by law for quiet enjoyment. I'm not a pensioner and started walking and climbing in the Buttermere fells at the age of 14.
I supported the Via Ferrata as a low key addition to the area's tourism industry but I am vehemently opposed to the zip wire which is a whole magnitude of disturbance greater.
With hindsight I wish I'd opposed the VF because it has proved to be the thin end of the wedge. The company says usage will be limited because people will have to walk uphill for 1,000ft. How long before they come back demanding either a vehicle track or some kind of ski lift to increase numbers to make their investment viable?
It must stop now.
Jon Sparks
02 September 2011Honister's crack about "pensioners" is insulting to just about everyone, including pensioners – plus all the people of all ages such as walkers, climbers and mountain bikers, who go the the Lakes for real, not synthetic, fun adventure. For such crass comments alone they deserve to have the application refused.
I think Terry is dead right, the Via Ferrata was thin end of the wedge, this would be a thicker bit of wedge – where would it end?
Go Ape tucked away in Grizedale Forest is one thing, this misplaced proposal is another thing entirely.
roger
02 September 2011Simple, let the people who live in Cumbria decide on how the Lake District develops.Think of the young generation for once.
I indeed enjoy walking but it is not for me to decide from a distance what future changes are needed.
R Webb
02 September 2011Honister have resorted to insults and ageist comments. It does not come over very well.
I think what they are saying is that the Lakes are being left to"fuddy duddies" who stick to non monetised activities like hillwalking and looking at the views rather than taking part in radical out there on the edge x-treme sports.
Max evans
03 September 2011What do you expect when the bottom line is profit for a few individuals? They disguise their true motivation to implement these projects behind mealy mouthed expressions of economic support for the local community. If the opportunity to make money wasn't there, neither would they be.
The use of "pensioners" in a pejorative and dismissive way points to the true character of an organisation that allows their spokespeople to use the term in that way.
There is no doubt that some jobs would be created and there would be some increased commercial traffic in the locality but consider this, those few locals who would benefit will not be motivated to focus on the importance of pressing concerns of the impact on the environment and natural heritage if they see them as a barrier to their own employment.
It's time that individuals and communities stopped seeing natural National assets and the way they are managed as purely local issues, they are not. Morally and spiritually they belong to us all, we all have responsibilty for them and we all have concerns about how they are managed.
Getting back to "pensioners", It's a fact that they are the group that have relatively high disposable income and that they are more willing than other groups to spend it in areas like the Lake District. Areas of such picturesque beauty and tranquility are, economically, heavily dependent on that very group so disdainfully referred to by the Honister Mine owners.
mick
03 September 2011Call me cynical, but the zip wire idea is purely about making a profit for a few individuals (the late mr Weir's family and partners) and I can't see how it'll benefit the Lake District or the people who live here.
Encouraging tourism is fine if it benefits the area. Sadly I don't think in the Lake Districts case it does.
The wealth generated by tourism in the LDNP always seems to end up in a very small group of businessman's pockets, rather than being re-invested into the region for the benefit of community (just look at the state of our roads and local services).
I'm definitely in the 'against' camp on this one.
Jon
03 September 2011"there would only ever be a maximum of 57 descents a day – staggered over the course of the day. The development would also help the mine create six new jobs and not have to lay off most of its workforce in winter."
How ever much are they proposing to charge for using the zip wire?
I'd also like to point out that all people, including "Company spokesman Ellis Butcher" and all Honister Slate Mine employees, are "aging" and that I see more people under 60 than pensioners in the Lake District. The idea that numbers of visitors are bound to decline because there's little for youngsters to do is sheer nonsense.
The purpose of Blackpool is to siphon off people who are just out for a white-knuckle thrill, leaving the Lakes for the more discerning. Long may that continue to be the case.
The Piglit
03 September 2011Re
National assets and the way they are managed as purely local issues, they are not. Morally and spiritually they belong to us all, we all have responsibilty for them and we all have concerns about how they are managed.
That's bollocks
Cypsygal
04 September 2011With my family, I have traversed the mountains near Morzine on a zip wire - fantastic experience. We also indulged in other water and mountain activities in that area. (If we wanted fairground entertainment we would indeed go to Blackpool, or Disneyland). We wanted to introduce our children to the mountains in summer. We stayed for a week, and spent our money in the locality. The zip wire was so special - flying like a bird, aerial view of the area - our (now adult) children still talk about it. This would give them a reason to visit the Lakes, as they could get the water/mountain activities in Wales, geographically nearer to where we live. Why do dissenters think it would not benefit the local economy?
Andyfromholmfirth
04 September 2011The biggest tourist attraction in the the Lake District is the..err..natural beauty of the area.Won't be much of an industry if that is trashed.Seems this application is a typical race to the bottom for a quick profit.Hope the planners show some backbone.
Peter
04 September 2011Not lay off people in winter? Who the heck is going to drag themselves up there on a wet winters day to ride a zip wire? These arguments are totally specious. The zip wire should be turned down and the via ferrata torn down. Neither has anyplace in the Lake District.
Dave
05 September 2011Get out on the crags for an adrenalin buzz, no wires necessary......
Paul M
06 September 2011I have walked this area for the last 30 years and love the area. I am big supporter of the wildlife Trusts and am passionate about protecting wildlife were ever it is. However When Mark Weir Opened the mine to the public and then opened the Via Ferrata it put Honister on the map and he has made it a great tourist attraction. I have been on the mine tour and the via Ferrata and think they are a great educational fun experience for any one old or young. I don't understand how having only a maximum of 57 people a day sliding down a zip wire have a significant effect on the wildlife and the character of the area. The zip wire will only reduce the impact of those 57 people walking down the mountain. The scale of this proposal is minimal yet the Friends say the scale of this has never before been allowed.
Bye the way, I can see that some of the comments posted above, against this proposal, are from cultural snobs who have never been to to the mine and have no interest in the local economy. If the Lake district has so called Friends like this then it doesn't need enemies.
martinj
08 September 2011It's ridiculous to say this is "all about profit for Honister mine". Are supermarkets there just because they may money for their owners? Mr Morrison sells us sandwiches because we want to eat! The zip wire proposal exists because there are lots of people who would give their eye teeth for a chance to whizz along it.
You'd not see me on any damn-fool zip wire - but I don't think that's a reason to deny others the chance. Come on, lighten up, life is for living!
Jesse James
23 October 2011The Honister mine is a scar on the mountainide, but so are all the other very necessary scars we make in the process of extracting necessary materials. A via ferrata detracts nothing but adds a lot to the attraction of the area for all the talked-about reasons, and a zip wire would be a very insignificant addition to the ironmongery already left on the mountainside, but great fun for those who wanted to use it. It's economic viability is a matter for the owners, but the numbers wouldn't damage the countryside. It's true that if it was popular and it became a four-wire highway it might give future planners something to argue about, but I think the rejected one should have been allowed to get off the ground. As has been said - there are plenty of other completely desolate places for people to dream in.
I'm a pensioner, but I don't get upset at the the word being used to describe attitudes.
I enjoy everything I find in the Lakeland hills, but accept that people need to earn a living there too.
bob frizington, a local
29 October 2011Why do we have planning regulations, if not to stop meglamanics like this.... I know everyone thinks that Mark was the next Messiah, but I don't. You see, I prefer to see Lakeland as an asset for ordinary people, not an elite few. I'm not against progress, but does progress have to mean this?
Bob Cross, Carnforth
27 May 2012This is the tip of a very big Iceberg. If I had my way, the roads around the lakes would be closed to all but locals and essential traffic. There are already far too many cars and visitors.
Keswick is now no more than an outlet shop for Gortex and everywhere is littered with the crap of modern life.
Gone are the scout camps and simple Youth Hostels, replaced by bored middle class kids, led by the nose who cannot go anywhere without their gizmos.
If you like peace and tranquility, by pass the lake district and head for the Mawdach Estuary and Cader Idris or better still the Beara Peninsula in Ireland!
How much is camping in Langdale now?????
james bate
25 September 2012just seen the bbc film on this , was baffled by the F o t L D & Natural England's attitude and gobsmacked by the selfish pig headed stance of dissenters on this site.
Such a contrast to the life affirming positivity of the people who live and work there, should be ashamed of yourselves.