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A row has broken out over a bid to put 40ft-long boats on one of the Lake District’s most scenic stretches of water. Dean Kirby reports
Friday, 10th January 2020, 4:04 pm
While strolling around the shores of Grasmere one summer evening in the 1950s, the artist William Heaton Cooper was inspired to paint the view across the becalmed waters towards the distant Helm Crag.
But today’s residents of Grasmere village fear that same view across the mere from the shingle beach at Penny Rock Wood is about to be ruined forever – by a proposal by a landowner to launch a fleet of “gentlemen’s yachts”.
The Lowther Estate has lodged a request with the Lake District National Park Authority for a certificate of lawful use to moor up to 10 motor-powered leisure boats on the lake, which the estate owns, for recreation and overnight holiday accommodation.
But residents say the scenery at the heart of the Unesco World Heritage Site would be “desecrated” by the proposals. More than 200 people gathered at the shoreline last weekend to protest.
Troubled waters
A petition has been drawn up and, in the village this afternoon, signs can be seen in the windows of the shops saying: “Houseboats Off Grasmere”.
Down at the lake, Andy Astle, 62, a retired Royal Mail manager who has lived in Grasmere for 49 years, looks out from the shingle beach towards a distant the distant fells.
“Putting ten houseboats here will be just completely out of context for the natural beauty of the area,” says. “Just look at that view. It’s stunning.
”In days gone by, the local school children used to have their swimming lessons at the edge of the lake. When they learned to swim, the headteacher would give them an ice cream and take them back to school.
“We have wild swimmers and fishermen on the water and a handful of rowing boats today, but nothing like this.
”Nobody in the village is against development,“ he adds. ”We’re not being nimbys. This area of the Lake District is everybody’s backyard. Putting these houseboats on the lake will spoil it for everyone who comes here to enjoy this scenery.“
‘Music-throbbing floating discos’
The Lowther Estate Trust insists says leisure boats have been seen for years on the bigger lakes of Coniston Water and Ullswater. David Bliss, the chief executive of the trust said: ”We are very keen to communicate in a constructive manner.“
i understands solicitors representing villagers in the issues are seeking a legal opinion from Robert McCracken QC – one of the country’s leading experts on planning law who has worked on cases including the Windermere speed limit inquiry.
In a letter to the Times, the writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg has warned the proposal will ”rip the heart out“ of the Lake District. The yachts, he said, would end up ”24-hour, music-throbbing floating discos“. He said the region could lose its World Heritage Site status.
Lord Bragg said in the letter: ”I’m surprised the Lowther Estate does not understand this..“
Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron has also warned that the proposals are ”completely unsuitable“, adding: ”It would start a slippery slope of every lake and tarn in the Lake District being open to inappropriate and environmentally damaging development.“
The Friends of the Lake District has spoken of its ”deep concerns“ about the proposals, which it says will have a ”detrimental effect on the landscape of an area loved by so many for its tranquil nature and its association with the Lakeland poets“.
The Lake District National Park Authority, which this week launched a campaign to encourage people to start their New Year fitness journeys by ”enjoying a new view“ of the region, will decide whether the request requires full planning permission.
Among residents concerns is that it might lead to future applications to install an access road, a jetty and boat servicing facilities.
Keeping things calm
At the lakeside, angler John Garner, 63, is heading home after an unsuccessful day trying to catch pike and perch.
”There are enough boats down the road on Windermere,“ he says. ”They aren’t needed here. I come fishing first thing in the morning and it’s very peaceful, but all that will change if the put these boats on the water.“
Christine Kirkwood and her husband John, who are walking their dogs Hattie and Stanley, share the same opinion. ”These boats will spoil the natural beauty of the place,“ Mrs Kirkwood says.
‘It’s completely wrong’
The Lake District National Park Authority has received more than 170 representations from local people against the proposal. One letter says: ”It is your duty to care for the Lake District in the spirit of the kind gift to the nation in which it was given… and the ability of everyone to enjoy Grasmere for what Wordsworth saw it, as ‘the loveliest spot’.
“This application makes a mockery of care for the Lake District, putting private gain over public good. At this time in the nation’s life, this must not be the sentiment that prevails.”
Over at the Heaton Cooper gallery, over a bridge across the River Rothay that feeds into the lake and past William Wordsworth’s grave in the cemetery of St Oswald’s Church, the granddaughter of William Heaton Cooper points out a print of After Sunset, Grasmere.
“I’m strongly opposed to the proposal,” Rebecca Heaton Cooper says. “It’s completely wrong. How can they justify putting floating holiday homes on the lake?
”Speaking on behalf of my family, I can say we all feel the same about it. The lake is a special place, but that beauty could soon be taken away.“
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