The Lake District National Park’s Brockhole visitor centre is to be rented out to another operator as it has become unstainable.
The authority said due to rising costs and continued costs to its funding, it has decided to market it for someone else to take over on a long-term lease.
It has already made nine members of staff redundant as the authority said it had made operational changes to make sure the site remains viable in 2025.
It said tenant operators Zip World and Windermere Lake Cruises will be unaffected by the changes.
Brockhole-on-Windermere opened in 1969 and was the first national park visitor centre to open.
Gavin Capstick, chief executive of the Lake District National Park Authority, said: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly and is the result of a long, thorough consideration of a wide range of alternatives.
“However, despite our hard-working, valued staff adapting to changing trading conditions over the past few years, we are currently forecast to make a significant loss. This is simply not sustainable and risks our ability to deliver other services across the national park.
“We remain committed to providing long-term public access to the grounds, lakeshore and heritage, and are confident a new operator will continue to provide a fantastic Lake District experience for the hundreds of thousands of visitors to Brockhole every year.”
School trips will continue during 2025 by the outdoor learning team and bookings are unaffected by proposals.
Visitors can continue to enjoy the outdoor Brockhole experience throughout 2025, including new outdoor catering from Joey’s, lakeshore activities, Easter hunts, the free adventure playground and Halloween spooktacular event.
The long-term lease for Brockhole will be marketed by Savills from this month and proposals will be considered by authority members later this year.
The lease will include the white house,
The Lake District National Park Authority receives a fixed National Park Grant from Defra.
It said funding for national parks in England is expected to be cut by 9% next year (25/26) – for the LDNPA this will represent a 53% real terms reduction to revenue grant over the past 15 years.
The authority also receives income from a number of other sources, including car parks, public toilets, project grants and occasional capital funding from government, which is expected to be a one-off increase next year.
It said the capital grant would not fully offset the significant impact of the long-term revenue grant reduction.
It added: “This financial pressure on the Lake District, alongside other national parks, results in difficult decisions being taken to prioritise what it can and can’t deliver for the people, nature and sustainability of England’s largest national park.”
