Holiday cabins for disabled children plan refused
LDNPAPlans to build holiday cabins to cater for families with disabled children, close to a Grade II listed villa, have been unanimously refused.
The six holiday pods rejected by the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) were intended for a field called Alma's Meadow on Smithy Lane near Bowness-on-Windermere.
The application stated the development would address a "lack of holiday accommodation catering for special needs and disadvantaged children" in the Lake District.
But an authority planning officer said, while the proposal focussed on disadvantaged children, there were concerns "there is nothing" which "actually restricts the use of the site to those groups".
At an LDNPA development control committee meeting on Wednesday, members said while the proposal "pulls at the heartstrings", it was in breach of planning guidance.
'Just holiday pods'
The planning officer said the development did not suit the built environment of Bowness and the surrounding countryside, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
He said it would harm the character and visual amenity of the location, including "cultural heritage" such as the setting of nearby listed Old Belfield villa and the wider Windermere Villas Conservation Area, which is set to be put in place.
The officer added that, without the pods being restricted to special needs and disadvantaged children, "we are essentially just looking at a development of holiday pods in the countryside".
One committee member said he would "like to see more of this type of development" but the location was not appropriate.
A member of the public also spoke against the application, saying it was "categorically not the case" that there was a lack of facilities in the immediate area and the wider Lake District.
The committee voted unanimously to refuse the proposal.
