Lake District row: Villagers win fight against Grasmere ‘gentlemen’s yachts’

Villagers in the Lake District have fought off a plan to float “gentlemen’s yachts” at Grasmere – the lake described by the poet William Wordsworth as “the loveliest spot that man hath ever known”.

But residents said 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.

In a letter to the Times, the writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg also warned the proposal will “rip the heart out” of the Lake District and that yachts would end up “24-hour, music-throbbing floating discos”.

Andy Astle, 62, a retired Royal Mail manager who has lived in Grasmere for 49 years, told i when news of the proposal emerged earlier this month:  “Putting ten houseboats here will be just completely out of context for the natural beauty of the area.

”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.“

The Grasmere Estate Trust said in a statement: “Clearly the application for recreational craft on Grasmere has caused considerable concern.

”The estate is a responsible landowner within the Lake District. We have therefore listened to these concerns and withdrawn the application.

“The estate looks forward to continuing working with the local community on ways to improve access and the diversity of use on Grasmere.”