Holiday park plan catastrophic, campaigners say

An artist's impression of a proposed lodge at the holiday park, near Askam

Changes to a proposed holiday resort will not prevent "catastrophic harm" being caused to a protected site, a campaign group has said.

Property developer ILM has plans to build 233 lodges in Roanhead, near Barrow in Cumbria, but has faced opposition over fears visitors could damage wildlife at Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve.

The company said the development will now have an "on-site containment strategy" designed to limit people leaving the resort, but the Save Roanhead group said the scheme will not work.

ILM declined to comment on the criticism but its planning documents state its new strategy would "not adversely affect" the nearby beach.

A spokesperson for Save Roanhead said the containment strategy made the holiday park sound like a "prison camp" and would not work due to the type of customers it aimed to attract.

"They say the visitors are nature lovers but they won't access the national nature reserve," they said.

"Bringing thousands of people to a national nature reserve would cause catastrophic harm."

Protected toads

Westmorland and Furness Council has yet to make a decision on ILM's proposal, however plans for a smaller holiday park in the area were recently withdrawn following public backlash.

Save Roanhead said the number of people expected to use the holiday park would "decimate the endangered species" there.

Sandscale Haws is home to natterjack toads which are a protected species in Britain.

The area also becomes home to about 20,000 wintering waterfowl and migratory birds such as pintail, red knot and common redshank.

Natural England, The National Trust and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust are among organisations which have objected to the plans.

Save Roanhead also said keeping people inside the resort would not support local businesses, which it claimed was one of the benefits the developer put forward in its original proposal.

In its planning amendment, ILM said the guests expected to visit the resort would be "ecologically responsible".

"Internal pathways, bespoke amenities and controlled access to adjacent sensitive environments (e.g. Sandscale Haws) are designed to retain guests within the resort for the majority of their stay," it said.

"This model eliminates the typical high-risk behaviours associated with dog walking, off-path exploration and mass group activity."