Road changes for major development get green light

Plans involve creating new junctions from the A591 and Thwaites Lane into the Orrest Head Farm site

A national park authority has approved a series of road changes as part of a multimillion-pound project on greenfield land.

The proposed changes to the A591 and Thwaites Lane form part of the Windermere Gateway Project, and are needed to transformation the Orrest Head Farm site, where 250 homes are planned.

Despite 36 objections, including from water firm United Utilities, the Lake District National Park Authority's development committee approved the plans.

The committee's chair said there was a "huge need" for extra housing.

The proposals put forward by Urban Splash will also see the development of cycle and pedestrian links between Orrest Head Farm and Windermere Railway Station.

The changes are part of a wider Windermere Gateway development

The Windermere Gateway project aims to tackle traffic, redevelop the town’s railway station and build affordable homes.

It was devised by The National Trust, Westmorland and Furness Council and the Lake District National Park Authority.

But objectors worry the plan will cause traffic disruption, destroy natural habitats and have an adverse visual impact.

'Got to go somewhere'

Chair of the development committee Mark Kidd defended the decision, while accepting it would lead to a loss of ecology and green land.

He said: "If there was a development to take place on that site, you would be turning green fields, on the edge of one of the Lakes' major towns, into an urban space.

"But it is allocated land as part of the local plan for residential use, and there's always a huge need for extra housing, and they've got to go somewhere."