A farmer has been ordered to put right unauthorised work made over a protected beck at Threlkeld – amid concerns the changes may increase the flood risk to homes downstream.
Lake District National Park planning bosses have issued a formal enforcement notice this summer which requires the “extensive” works over Kiln How Beck (pictured below) to be undone within 12 months.
It follows what the national park called the alleged levelling of the land, the formation of a causeway crossing over the beck and the spreading of excavated material at the site which is near the public car park off Blease Road.
The farmland is close to a public footpath which follows the beck down into the village.
The matter came before the national park’s development control committee.
A resident at the site this week said the work had provided the farmer with easier vehicular access to the field but had effectively created a bridge over the beck.
Large boulders are in place to form a crossing with a drainage pipe installed.
Of the decision to have the installation removed, the resident said: “That’s brilliant news as far as I am concerned.”
Asked if the causeway caused any harm, the resident said: “It’s debatable. I am not an expert on whether it causes a flood risk or not.
“The place flooded in Storm Desmond because of this beck so it needs careful management because anything done up here has an impact down in the village.
“The point is that it was done without permission and what else will it lead to?”
Carolyn Cripps, chair of Threlkeld Parish Council, declined to comment on the enforcement decision.
Kiln How Beck is classed as a tributary of the River Derwent site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and a special area of conservation (SAC) with associated legal protections in place.
The national park said: “The unauthorised development significantly harms the character and appearance of the area and fails to conserve or enhance the local landscape of this part of the national park.”
The Environment Agency has advised that the “culverted causeway” over the beck represented a “restriction” in the system which results in an increased flood risk.
There are also EA concerns that it has the potential to be “harmful” to the watercourse and species it supports including Atlantic Salmon and Lamprey.
The Keswick Reminder attempted to contact the landowner for comment.
