Plans by a Lake District hill farm to host a permanent campsite in the heart of the Newlands Valley have divided public opinion.
Dozens of representations have been submitted to the national park authority about a change of use planning application for an agricultural field at Stair for use by tents between March 15 until September 31.
Residents and some visitors to the area have complained that a temporary “pop-up” version last summer created a range of problems. They cited litter, excessive noise, large parties, music and traffic congestion through Portinscale and down to Stair, and ruined views from the surrounding fells.
But the plan has also been widely welcomed by a number of other visitors who stayed last year., Planning agents Edwin Thompson in Carlisle, for the applicants, also described last summer as a “very successful” trial.
It generated more than 1,300 bookings and was allowed to stand for 56 days under permitted development rules, which are now being scrapped.
The agents too have told the national park that critics of the plan are “strongly driven by personal emotions and not necessarily the facts”.
Fears have been raised that a nearby beck floods the field.
The new plan is to create what the planning agents said is an eco-friendly campsite where walking and cycling is encouraged whilst staying at the site and vehicle use discouraged.
It is part of a farm diversification enterprise to help stabilise the “variable” income from the farming business, according to official documents.
Various rewilding schemes have forced it to reduce stock numbers by 25 per cent and farm subsidies are falling over the coming years as a result of EU schemes being wound down, agents said.
The aim is to cater for families and couples with temporary toilets and shower blocks brought in, according to supporting documents submitted to the LDNPA.
