Plans to create a new car park in Silloth have been thrown out over concerns about its impact on wildlife.
The 1,200sq m site, off Port Road and opposite the Port of Silloth, is currently used as an informal car park.
But a planning application to make it into a 34-space car park was rejected by Cumberland Council because it was within Silloth Dunes and Mawbray Bank Site of Special Scientific Interest.
A council report said the site acted as a supporting habitat to the SSSI, providing benefits to its designated features including natterjack toads and great crested newts and would therefore result in significant adverse effects on protected species and habitats.
Silloth Town Council provided no response to the application and Natural England objected because it considered that it would lead to damage and loss of land within the Silloth Dunes and Mawbray Bank SSSI.
