Golf course in 'last community hamlet' approved

Choices Health Club, which runs Troutbeck Bridge Swimming Pool, is the company behind the plans

Plans for an 18-hole golf course in "one of the very last residential communities" in a national park have been approved.

The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) has approved the scheme at Troutbeck Bridge Swimming Pool, near Windermere, Cumbria.

Several residents objected to the proposals on the grounds it would bring a tourist facility into a residential hamlet. They also raised safety concerns for pupils from nearby The Lakes School.

But the LDNPA said there was evidence that a third of the existing pool and gym users were already tourists from holiday apartments.

The plans, by Choices Health Club which runs the pool and gym, will also see the car park re-landscaped and the front of the building updated.

The LDNPA has approved the plans, subject to conditions, including that the golf-course cannot operate after 20:00 Monday to Saturday or after 17:00 on Sundays.

'Ridiculous idea'

A similar application was refused in July 2023 after planners ruled the proposals would "result in the creation of a new tourism attraction in a village location" outside of suitable areas.

The LDNPA said the new application was for "a different scheme" that had been moved to the opposite side of the existing building.

Resident William Keith, who objected to the plans, said: "This development will change our community forever and sadly for the worse."

Fellow local Jean Flitter said the plans were a "ridiculous idea".

She added: "Why do we need another mini golf course when there’s one in Ambleside and Bowness, and this is a small residential hamlet."

The Lakes School and Westmorland and Furness Council also objected over the potential impact on the "safe operation" of the school, which sits opposite to the health club.

In a report prepared for the planning committee, planning officers said they were satisfied that the development was acceptable "overall" in terms of the impact on the character of the area.

The LDNPA said the expansion would support both the existing business and the community.