Low Borrowdale. Photo: Edmund Hoare
Planners have turned down a bid for a holiday complex on the edge of the Lake District which was opposed by renowned mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington.
Manchester firm Natural Retreats had applied for permission to build ten ‘eco-lodges’ in the remote Borrowdale valley between Shap and Tebay. Eden District Council rejected the application yesterday, Thursday.
The decision was welcomed by campaigners against the development at Low Borrowdale Farm, including the Friends of the Lake District and the Open Spaces Society.
The Friends own neighbouring High Borrowdale, which was bought in 2002 to protect the land from development in a valley which is described by the group as one of the few remaining tranquil valleys in the East of the Lakes, with no road and only one inhabited house. Natural Retreats had planned to build the wooden eco-lodges plus convert buildings into seven holiday cottages.
Richard Pearse, planning officer for the Friends, said: “’We are very pleased with the outcome. The proposal not only raised numerous conflicts with local and national planning policy, but also generated over 300 letters of objection.
“Our view has always been that the proposal was in the wrong location. The committee’s decision vindicates this.”
The area is under consideration as part of the ‘bridge’ of land joining the Lake District national park and the Yorkshire Dales national park, which includes the Howgills to the East.
Sir Chris Bonington
Sir Chris, who has summited Everest and led numerous mountaineering expeditions, agreed with the objections. In a letter to Eden District Council he said: “Having walked the Borrowdale valley on several occasions over the years, I believe it is one of the loveliest valleys in Cumbria, all the more attractive for its quietness and pristine quality.
“It is not surprising that it is being considered for inclusion in the national park – something long overdue in my opinion.
“I fully appreciate the need to diversify and strengthen the rural economy but this needs to be carried out on a long term sustainable basis. Even in economic terms, maintaining the pristine beauty of our Lakeland and Cumbrian unspoilt valleys must make sense, for this is why this area is such a focus for tourism.
“The Borrowdale valley is unique and should remain so, hopefully, one day, becoming one of the jewels in the national park diadem.”
The Open Spaces Society also welcomed the planners’ decision. General secretary Kate Ashbrook said: “The proposed development would have conflicted with the peace and quiet of this lovely valley, creating a blot on the landscape and generating noisy traffic.
“The Borrowdale valley has been identified by Natural England, the Government’s adviser on national parks, to be of national-park quality. We look forward to its inclusion within the Lake District’s boundary, and are relieved that it will not be blighted by this damaging development.”
Natural Retreats, which already has a holiday complex near Richmond in North Yorkshire, says in its publicity: “Our vision is clear and simple: to build environmentally friendly, luxury residences, founded on sustainable principles, within or close to all 14 National Parks in the UK by 2011.”
Borrowdale shares its name with its better known cousin south of Keswick, in the western Lake District.
