Controversial plans to develop an adventure tourism attraction at a Lake District quarry have been thrown out.
Burlington Stone wanted to create the attraction at Elterwater Quarry, which would see 50,000 visitors a year, and its proposals were discussed by Lake District planners today.
Three members were in favour, but four voted against.
Chairman Mark Kidd said the travel plan for the attraction was not sufficiently developed to support the application.
Burlington Slate wanted to use part of Elterwater Quarry at Great Langdale for heritage tourism – including zip wires in its caverns, a visitor centre and natural history trail.
When the firm first revealed its plans last year, it provoked outrage.
The scheme would include:
- The introduction of a fixed line route connecting viewing platforms within a cavern – the ‘in-cavern explorer route’ – using zip wires to provide access to viewpoints and features of interest;
- Recladding former saw sheds and use of part of the sheds to provide a larger visitor building;
- Alterations to an existing building to provide a second, smaller visitor building;
- The introduction of an outdoor heritage interpretation area;
- Car and coach parking and associated landscaping;
- The introduction of a permissive route within the quarry to a viewpoint.
During the meeting, two people spoke out objecting to the plans and two spoke in favour of it.
Miss Woodend Wall, of Friends of the Lake District, objected to the attraction and called the travel plan ‘unrealistic’ while citing that it claimed guests would ‘boat’ and ‘bike’ in from Brockhole to get to the site.
She added: “Yet another increase in visitor traffic cannot be sustainable. We cannot be sure the new travel plan will be much improved and it is unclear what would happen should issues arise.
“The fact the site is a quarry and the implication that are area is already despoiled because of that is being used to justify harm.
“Years of hard work, skill and the significance of the landscape should not be reduced to providing a fix for thrill-seekers who barely give a passing thought to the heritage.”
Mr Gibb, of Holker Estates, spoke in favour of the application and said the attraction would be an educational heritage asset that encouraged younger people to visit the area.
He said: “We want to preserve and highlight the heritage of the Lake District. We have permission to continue quarrying at Elterwater until 2042 but we are bringing forward these plans as a sustainable way to tell the quarrymen’s story.
“We are a family business with roots in the Lakes and we are keen to preserve our 200 year legacy in the area. This legacy is typified by quarry manager Ian Kelly. Ian is a second generation quarryman and one of six family members who currently work for us at Burlington Stone.
“It all started with his father who is now 84 and who worked on the site when the caverns were still being mined. But there’s a real need to continue enhancing the appeal of the Lake District in a sustainable and responsible way.
“We need to consider how we continue to attract young people to this area and this is the kind of experience we need to appeal to the visitors of the future.”
Councillor Donaldson of Lakes Parish Council also spoke and objected to the plans and said the council was disappointed the national park authority had recommended the plans for approval.
He said: “Liverpool lost its world heritage status through overdevelopment, it could happen here. Why is there no geological survey? It could provide an unbiased view, are they afraid of what the findings might be?
“We as a council have received a large number of objections on this application, which is reflected on the planning website from a large number of visitors coming to this area.
“Visitors who come to the Lake District to stand and stare, be at one with nature and to escape the hustle and bustle, their time will be impacted by this development. Largely due to increased traffic.
“This proposal fails. It does not provide transport options which are frequent, reliable and convenient for the majority of visitors – they will still try to visit by car, the very thing the LDNP is committed to reducing.
“There are already issues of anti-social parking. This application is guaranteed to change the peaceful Langdale character. We would like to see the quarry returned to nature for it to establish itself and recover.
“We have taken from nature for long enough, it is time to give back.”
Mr Perry, of Burlington Stone, also spoke in favour of the plans during the meeting and said that conditions imposed on the scheme were fully accepted.
He added: “Members will be well aware of the debate surrounding this application and the substantial and persistent and often misinformed discussion which the applicant’s team has actively avoided being drawn into.
“The local issue of people parking and the growing need for the national park authority to transport visitors sustainably is a challenge the applicant team accepted at the outset of preparing this project.
“The applicant accepts these enhanced visitor requirements and anticipates that other operators will, in time, need to follow this lead going forward.
“In short, we believe this application sets a new standard for responsible, sustainable visitor management in the Lake District National Park.”
While discussing the plans, members said conditions would need to be ‘beefed up’ if they were to vote in favour of granting planning permission for the attraction.
Aside from the travel plan, they also voiced concerns around accessibility and being able to ensure the attraction prioritised education and heritage conservation.
Overall, a total of 1,397 individual objections and four letters of support have been recorded with an additional 90,083 signatures recorded on a petition asking for the development to not go ahead.
It was initially recommended for approval and an officer’s report said: “From the visitor estimates, and considering the finite capacity of the proposed cavern explorer attraction, I do not consider that the proposal would have a particularly perceptible impact on the wider road network, either within or outside peak season.
“Available information also indicates that proposed car park capacity at the attraction would be sufficient that even if all visitors accessed the site by car, they could be accommodated on site, and therefore the development is not likely to result in displacement which adds to parking pressures in Elterwater or the surrounding area.”
However, it added: “Representations raise concerns about the usability of proposed transport options as an alternative to the private car.
“The travel plan focuses on the use of Brockhole as a park and ride car park. However, this car park is some distance from Elterwater and currently experiences capacity issues from its existing operations.”
Members were not convinced that the travel plan was good enough and the benefits did not outweigh the harms of the increased number of private car travel.
