Holiday park appeals 'overly restrictive' site ban

An appeal has been lodged by Park Foot with the Planning Inspectorate over use of a site by the shore of Ullswater

An appeal has been lodged to give a holiday park permission to provide parking and activities on a lakeshore.

Park Foot Holiday Park in Pooley Bridge, Cumbria, is appealing against an enforcement notice banning it from using the car park by Ullswater for more than 60 days a year, as well as running water activities and selling food and drinks.

Sisters Barbara Allen and Fiona Bell, who lodged the appeal against the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA), said the approved number of days was "overly restrictive" and would put pressure on other land within Park Foot or the shore.

The LDNPA said it had "no express permission" to operate the site in that way.

Ms Allen and Mrs Bell said their family had been "offering tourist accommodation in the area for over 100 years" and Park Foot Holiday Park had been opened by their father in 1951.

Their appeal, submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, showed the LDNPA issued the enforcement notice in August, which also requires the holiday park to remove two shipping containers and reinstating grass on an area that had been filled with gravel.

Six-month permission

The land in question, which is mostly grass, is on the eastern shore of Ullswater and is about 98ft (30m) wide and 295ft (90m) long.

They have permission to run a car park for 60 days of the year but they are now asking the Planning Inspectorate to give them permission to keep it open each year between April and September.

The appeal documents said the car park, available for the holiday park guests as well as the public, was used "in association with the boat launch facility" nearby.

"The boat launch is the only publicly accessible launch and parking area on the east side of the lake," they added.

They also want permission to continue using the site for recreational activities, storing and selling water sports equipment, and offering changing rooms.

Difficult maintenance

The appeal also asked to keep the gravelled area with picnic tables and the option of having a cafe trailer.

The LDNPA said maintaining the grassed area was a condition of previous planning permission.

Documents said the car park had become difficult to maintain and the gravel was introduced after a "number of consecutive wet summers" resulted in it being "churned up".

"The solution for this, as is commonplace throughout rural areas, was to scrape back the soil and put a more solid surface down that could better tolerate the use," it added.

The Planning Inspectorate will make a decision in due course.