Operators willing to take on the Lake District National Park Authority’s Brockhole visitor centre near Ambleside have until the end of this week to submit an expression of interest in running the venture.
The 30 acre historic property which has been run as a not for profit attraction by the authority was forecast to make ‘a significant loss’ according to chief executive Gavin Capstick.
Nine members of staff were made redundant.
Brockhole was bought by the LDNPA in 1966 and it opened in 1969 as the UK’s first national park visitor centre.
A long-term lease was offered and a selection process to find a new operator began last month.
The company handling the process told Business Crack it had sent details to a number of potential operators and interest parties as part of a two-stage selection process.
Members of the Lake District National Park Authority were briefed when they met last week.
The authority’s chief executive said the transition to the revised operating model had begun with the closure of some services occurring sooner than planned as staff were allowed to leave early where they had secured alternative employment rather than an insistence that they serve their full notice period before redundancy.
“This led to a quicker close down across March and a quiet feeling on site and a more restricted offer with only the grounds and limited activities available,” Mr Capstick wrote, adding “This will pick up again from April when the external catering options and third-party events begin to pick up on site.”
The move comes as funding for LDNPA from Defra has still to be confirmed although it’s understood the department has indicated a 9% cut in funding for all national parks. Applied to the Lake District this would equate to a £500,000 cut.
However Defra has also signalled that £15m worth of capital investment could be shared among national parks. LDNPA members were told last week assuming this was spread evenly among the 10 parks, the Lake District would receive a capital grant worth £1.6m.
In his report to members, Mr Capstick said: “There is no reason to believe that our final confirmed settlement will vary in any substantive way from the indicative settlements provided but we do still await formal confirmation.”
