There is fury at council plans to sell off acres of historic land at the heart of Keswick for less than £500,000 – with objectors calling it a sell off the town’s “family silver”.
Allerdale Borough Council confirmed this week that it is preparing to sell land and buildings next to the Keswick Country House Hotel.
It would encompass the Grade II-listed former railway station building, the road leading to it and a large area of parking in front.
The area has been leased for years to the hotel’s owners Choice Hotels Ltd, but the lease has now expired and there are discussions with the hotel about a sale.
But the talks have sparked a backlash because the Conservative-run council ceases to exist in less than a year, with the district becoming part of the new Cumberland Council.
Current Allerdale Labour opposition councillors Markus-Campbell Savours, Tony Lywood and Sally Lansbury are among those to oppose any sell-off.
They have argued that the area is worth more and could be better preserved for community facilities such as a new leisure centre with the future of Keswick’s in serious doubt.
But Cllr Allan Daniels, a Keswick-based Conservative councillor, who is Allerdale’s deputy mayor, has said the negotiations concern the council retaining the old platforms, part of the building and a parking area with a view to handing it over as a legacy project for the new Cumberland council to develop on behalf of Keswick, with potential for pop-up shops, a restaurant, bike rentals and toilets.
Cllr Markus Campbell-Savours said: “It seems odd that, with only a year left in existence, Allerdale Borough Council are so keen to sell off the family silver.
“If they have any intention of redeveloping the existing leisure centre site then why would they bind the hands of the new Cumberland authority and lose a historic asset in a strategically important location?
“Considering we may be looking at a substantial works on the leisure pool site, now is surely the time to ask what the community would like to see happen to the railway station.”
Cllr Sally Lansbury said: “It does not make any sense to sell this asset at this time.
“The location for a new leisure facility is still under review and we urgently need loos at this end of the Keswick to Threlkeld trail.”
The land in question is close to the river and Upper Fitz Park. The centrepiece is the Victorian Keswick Country House Hotel, which sits in four acres of tended gardens and walkways.
A spokesman for Allerdale Borough Council told the Reminder that while a final decision was yet to be made, any sale would provide a capital receipt which could be used to improve and regenerate the area.
“We are having positive negotiations with the owners of Keswick Hotel about the future ownership and potential disposal of land at the Old Station Building at Station Road, Keswick,” the spokesman said.
“They currently have a protected lease on the land. This lease covers the station building and platform.
“Whilst we are limited in what we can say due to the ongoing negotiations, the proposal is to sell the station building and entrance area, and retain the platform, canopy and other areas under council control.”
However, Keswick Town councillor Tony Lywood said the sale would be “asset stripping of the very worst kind.”
“While I fully support the Keswick Country House Hotel and the income and jobs it brings to the town, the idea that the land should be sold to its owners at a very low price is a bad one,” he said. “It seems that once again one of Keswick’s assets is being sold off when the area of land in question might prove crucial in future developments in the site.
“We should oppose this sale as the land could eventually form part of a much greater development in the formation of a new leisure centre,” he added.
The hotel is owned by Choice Hotels Ltd, which has five properties in the UK.
A spokesman said: “Choice Hotels are a family run business operating two lake district hotels, we have continually invested in the Keswick Country House Hotel in the almost 20 years we have owned and ran the hotel; most recently including a new modern 14 bedroom staff accommodation block.
“We maintain high occupancy levels throughout the year by reducing our prices to keep the hotel continually busy and provide all year round employment and a flow of tourists to Keswick.
“We take pride in operating in the historical market town and look forward to working with the council going forward.”
An Allerdale Borough Council spokesman said a final decision had yet to be made but any sale would provide a capital receipt which could be used to regenerate the area.
“We are having positive negotiations with the owners of Keswick Hotel about the future ownership and potential disposal of land at the Old Station Building at Station Road, Keswick,” the spokesman said. “They currently have a protected lease on the land. This lease covers the station building and platform.
“Whilst we are limited in what we can say due to the ongoing negotiations, the proposal is to sell the station building and entrance area, and retain the platform, canopy and other areas under council control.”
Cllr Allan Daniels, the Conservative deputy mayor, said the hotel’s lease came to an end last year. He said the purpose of Allerdale retaining part of the area for development and selling the rest was to ring-fence a legacy project to hand over to the new council to take forward.
Cllr Daniels said: “I think this area could be a gold mine for the town and a legacy project for the people of Keswick. If we renew the lease as it is then the new council won’t be able to do anything with it and Keswick loses an opportunity to develop the site for another 40 years.”
However, Cllr Lywood described any sale as “asset stripping of the very worst kind”.
“While I fully support the Keswick Country House Hotel and the income and jobs it brings to the town, the idea that the land should be sold to its owners at a very low price is a bad one,” said Cllr Lywood. “It seems that once again one of Keswick’s assets is being sold off.”
