Cumbria holiday park would not impact wildlife, developer says

Natterjack toads are very rare in the UK and only found at a handful of sites

A proposed holiday park in Cumbria would create hundreds of jobs without affecting one of the few UK habitats of a rare toad, its developer says.

A planning application for around 450 lodges on the shore of the Duddon Estuary in Furness has been submitted.

However, more than 4,000 people have signed a petition opposing the scheme at Roanhead Farm near Askam.

Conservation groups have also expressed concerns about the impact on natterjack toads.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust fears it will have "unacceptable impacts" at Duddon Estuary and Sandcastle Haws where it says one-quarter of the UK's population of the rare toads breed.

If approved by Westmorland and Furness Council, the scheme would include a restaurant, gym, pool and children's petting farm.

'Considerable' economic boost

Andrew Coutts, chief executive of developer ILM Group, told BBC Radio Cumbria the £100m scheme would have a "considerable economic impact" and that environmental concerns were addressed by the plans.

"The investment is in excess of £100m. In terms of employment, the projected number of full-time employees is just over 270.

"The additional impact of resort guests in terms of numbers of people will be minimal. It isn't to say there won't be additional people, of course there will be.

"[And] we're very experienced in environmental impact assessments processes. Our ecologist worked with us for six months to understand the local habitats of different species."

Mr Coutts said the creation of new habitats on the site, including breeding ponds for the toads, was being explored with council planners set to spend three months examining the overall plans.

The authority has requested further information from ILM before details of the scheme are made available online and a consultation process can begin, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.