Traffic chaos has returned again to narrow roads around Portinscale following the end of the temporary car park at Ullock Moss, says the businessman in charge of the site.
Permission for vehicles to park on a piece of hard-standing near Nichol End Marine expired in mid-August and ever since rural roads on the popular western side of Derwentwater have become snarled up again, said Mike Anderton, of major landowners the Lingholm Private Trust.
Under permitted development rules, the temporary car park did not require planning permission which has allowed it to soak up some of the many vehicles heading into the area over the last eight weeks.
Mr Anderton, 50, said the test case had been well managed and he is seeking permission from the Lake District National Park Authority to construct a new 150-space car park and toilets at Ullock Moss in a planning application which has polarised support for and against.
The plan includes a new shuttle bus “turning facility” at Cupboard Field and a series of measures along the highway, including double yellow lines, to combat problem parking, and improved footpath infrastructure.
But Mr Anderton said almost as soon as the temporary permission expired the problems returned with the recent scenes underlining the need for a rapid solution to a problem he says has been worsening since 2003.
Mr Anderton also turned on critics of the plan, which included those who initially objected to the temporary car park idea.
Mr Anderton said: “During the 56 permitted days the traffic passed freely, the bus service operated and in the event of a serious incident emergency services would have been able to travel unhindered.
“There was no overnight camping, no 24-hour noise, no seagulls and no rats feeding off the litter or any of the negative things that some said would happen.
“The campaigners trying to prevent this development are peddling a number of false hopes.
“No alternative proposal has been put forward, no multi-million pound investor found and no suitable site has been acquired.
“The idea of banning tourists from the village and only allowing residents and delivery drivers through wouldn’t work for local businesses – they rely on the trade.
“The local bus and launch are excellent alternative forms of transport, however the feedback we have had from visitors since the first application in 2003 is that they wouldn’t divert off the A66 to try and park in Keswick and wait for a bus.
“It’s ridiculous to suggest that this is the alternative solution to a well-placed car park with direct access to the lake and footpath to Catbells and has toilets on site.”
