Zip-wire Lake District attraction left hanging
Councillors went against officer recommendation to reject Burlington Stone and Zip World’s application for a tourist attraction at Elterwater Quarry.
The companies had wanted to construct an immersive experience that not only entertained but spotlighted the history of the mine. In addition to an in-cavern zip-line trail, there would have been a visitor building and an outdoor heritage interpretation area.
Burlington Stone estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 people would visit the attraction each year.
It was that number of visitors which drew concerns from Lake District National Park’s development control committee.
In vetoing the plans at the committee meeting yesterday, councillors said that they did not feel that a travel plan had been sufficiently developed to address an increase in private cars in the area.
The council’s planning officers, however, had deemed the travel plan acceptable. The travel plan had also been signed off by the Local Highway Authority.
The decision to reject the Elterwater Experience, as it was to be known, was a tight one. The committee deliberated the application for close to two hours, with three councillors voting in favourite of the plans and four voting against.
Regarding the committee’s decision, Allen Gibb, chief executive of Burlington Stone parent company Holker Group, said: “We are disappointed that committee members have gone against the recommendation of their officer colleagues and refused our application for an educational heritage experience in the caverns at Elterwater Quarry.
“We still believe in the value this project can bring to the local area and will now assess our next steps.”
Burlington Stone and Zip World’s project was designed by Dewis Architecture. The project team included Curtins and BSG.
You can learn more about the project by searching 7/2023/5012 on the Lake District National Park planning portal.
It is way beyond the time whereby this utter nonsense of committees going against Officer Recommendations without sound commercial reason was stopped. What an economic boost this would provide to the area and what an amazing attraction this would be – sounds like Councillors pandering to Nimbys as usual!!!
By David Sleath
Will win on appeal and council will bear the costs. Councilors only do it to keep the locals happy but ends up costing them money. What a circus
By Bob
Members of the National Park committee are appointed not elected, so don’t pander to the public in the same way as many Councils. They didn’t object to the principle of the scheme, but wanted more details about how traffic will be managed – there are already significant issues in Elterwater. I suspect a resubmission with a robust Travel Plan and the application will be approved.
By Anonymous