Plan to hand over park visitor centre amid cuts

Nine staff have already been made redundant at the Brockhole-on-Windermere site, the LDNPA said

Government cuts have been blamed for a decision to hand over the management of the UK's first national park visitor centre.

The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) said the lease of its Brockhole-on-Windermere site would be put on the market, with nine staff having already been made redundant as part of the move.

The authority said it expected funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to be cut by 9%, which meant the site's budget had been more than halved in the past 15 years.

Defra said it was committed to "fixing the nation's finances" and "address a £22bn inherited fiscal hole".

Brockhole-on-Windermere was the UK's first national park visitor centre when it opened in 1969.

The LDNPA said tenants operating from the site - Zip World and Windermere Lake Cruises - would not be affected by the changes and events and bookings would go ahead as planned.

Gavin Capstick, LDNPA's chief executive, said Brockhole was forecast to make a "significant loss".

"This is simply not sustainable and risks our ability to deliver other services across the national park," he added.

The long-term lease for Brockhole will be marketed this month and the LDNPA said it would consider proposals later this year.

A Defra spokesman said they were helping national parks to "cut through bureaucracy" and take an "entrepreneurial approach" to boost earnings.

They added: "Our National Parks are a source of great national pride, which is why we are providing a capital uplift of up to £15 million for National Parks, as well as investing £400 million in nature across the country."