Plans are in place to make a unique pub on a tiny island off the coast of the Furness Peninsula more environmentally friendly.
Barrow Borough Council wants to set 30 ground-mounted solar panels up behind Piel Island’s Ship Inn.
A heritage impact statement submitted in support of an application describes the proposed scheme as modest in scale and says the panels would afford a degree of energy efficiency.
“Given the minor scope of the work, I do not consider that the proposed works will give rise to any undue impact upon either the Ship Inn or to neighbouring buildings,” said Jason Kennedy, of chartered town planning and heritage consultancy firm Townscape, in the document.
In September, an application for new bothies and toilet and shower facilities on Piel was approved.
A design and access statement submitted as part of the application from the borough council, which is the custodian of Piel Island and the Ship Inn, said: “Functionally, the toilet facilities are currently not fit for purpose, and both the existing buildings [the toilet facility and the bothies] are damaging of the appreciation of the heritage of Piel Island.
“Their construction is of poor quality, with little thought to the details of the execution and generally low quality of finish.”
At the end of May, the Ship Inn reopened under Aaron Sanderson.
His taking on of the lease followed an extensive selection process in which more than 190 individuals registered an interest in the pub.
Last month, he was formally crowned the King of Piel – with the title of king or queen being bestowed upon the landlord of the Ship Inn – during a ceremony in which he had beer poured over his head.
