A luxury cabin business offering glamping holidays in the Lake District has been served with an enforcement notice by the national park authority after a breach of planning permission.
In The Vale shot to prominence earlier this year after Romeo Beckham and girlfriend Mia Regan stayed there over Christmas.
The family-run farm, Birkett Mire, Threlkeld, off the B5322, commands breathtaking views of Blencathra and St John’s in the Vale, has been given three months to re-site a single shepherd’s hut, outdoor hot tub, seating and hard-standing, as it did not have planning permission to go where it was put.
In The Vale is located a short distance from the LDNPA’s northern office at the Old Station Yard.
The LDNPA said it had taken action after the shepherd’s hut – to be let out as holiday accommodation – was put in the wrong place on a field.
The business received planning permission in 2021 for five shepherd huts but closer to the farm buildings.
Four have been placed where they were permitted, but not the “unauthorised” fifth, which was deemed to be in a prominent location.
Park planners said the fifth hut can be kept if it is sited where it was originally supposed to go.
Originally, Threlkeld Parish Council had said it preferred the huts to be sited closer to the farm buildings to reduce the visual impact on the landscape.
The farm, with 138-acres of pasture land, is owned and run by Wendy Birkett and family, which has diversified to help keep the farm going.
The business, offering stays starting from around £380-a-night, did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the LDNPA said it had been alerted to the breach of planning permission by members of the public.
“There is a three month compliance period – until 25 April. Our enforcement team are based primarily in Kendal but work across the national park.”
The matter went before members of the national park’s development control committee, which receives regular updates about enforcement.
