Residents living next to the site of a proposed pay and display car park in Keswick say the town does not need another one so close to homes.
Keswick Youth Centre has applied to create a temporary 32-space car park off Main Street which would operate for more than 56 days of the year and around-the-clock.
Planned for land owned by the youth centre at the rear of Kat’s Kitchen, residents of neighbouring Old Mill Court have spoken against the proposal and say while they support the youth centre, it will create congestion, noise, fumes and safety issues.
At a meeting of Keswick Town Council, residents said there were an estimated 1,450 car parking spaces in Keswick and asked whether the council or national park authority “really wants to approve another car park” with the town already gridlocked at times.
The application posed a dilemma for the council whose planning group had intended to “reluctantly” support the application as it was a “short-term fundraising initiative” for the youth centre.
Keswick Youth Centre has to raise its own income to fund its popular services and has never replaced the building lost after it was demolished following the 2009 floods.
Its plan is to use the income generated by the car park to fund services and a new building after a previous plan for a new centre at the same site was rejected.
But residents addressing the Keswick Town Council meeting cited concerns about traffic entering and exiting the site from Main Street and the lack of visibility towards Greta Bridge.
‘New car park will affect our quality of life’
They say a number of young children also live along the row and a car park would seriously affect their quality of life.
Neighbour Charlotte Christensen said Main Street was “saturated” with cars and the car park would only attract more.
She said: “As neighbours to the youth club’s piece of land we have never been consulted about the projects. The first project was the three-storey tall building and next is the car park.
“Had we been consulted we could have talked about concerns. Obviously, I love the youth club and don’t want to fight a charity.
“How will it affect us? I don’t know is the answer. How can I know what it’s like to have traffic from a 32-space car park right outside and the fumes, noise and proximity of it.
“It feels like we can’t actually use our gardens any longer and I wonder how it will be even inside the house just to have that kind of traffic outside – will we be able to open our windows?”
Resident Brian Moffat said if the car park got temporary go-ahead it would remain there indefinitely.
‘There are obvious safety concerns’
Mr Moffat said: “We would like a youth club. I’ve worked in one in the past. While I have every sympathy with the youth club’s wish to raise funds I just think the proposal should be recommended for refusal.
“The point is there is no car park in Keswick – all 13 of them – where a car park impinges so directly on local residential properties. There are obvious safety concerns about the children living there – I think there’s about nine, including very young ones.
“A car park so close to us will generate noisy disturbance to families and young children, and fumes throughout a 24-hour period.”
Cllr Duncan Miller told the town council meeting that the site was an “untidy mess”. “We are voted on to the council by residents and I think some of the objections that have come in are very, very reasonable,” he said.
“It’s not a case of not in my back yard. Do we need another car park in town and should we be encouraging more cars to come into town?”
Keswick Youth Club should not be given a ‘free pass’ says councillor
Cllr Paul Titley said the town council wanted to see a new youth club for Keswick but it did not mean giving the organisation “a free pass” to do anything to bring it about.
Cllr Titley said: “If there was no car parking in Keswick and there weren’t 1,500 spaces already and suddenly this spot came up with 30-odd spaces we would say: ‘We’ll have that’.
“But this would be a minimal increase on what we already have in the town.”
The town council voted not to give its support to the application and urged national park planners to refuse.
Cllr Markus Campbell-Savours, who acts as the town council’s liaison with the youth club, said he would feed back the remarks.
“I feel like I have to defend the youth club in some respects,” he said.
“People have to remember this is an organisation that has been there for many years and did a lot when I was young for young people in this town. It wants to do a lot more for young people in this town and for one reason or another, have found themselves in this bizarre situation where it’s battling with the residents.”
No date has yet been set for the application to be determined by the LDNPA.
The youth club issued a statement: “The future funding of Keswick Youth Club is always a concern and the trustees remain committed to funding a sustainable youth club through the development of the Old Mill site as a temporary car park while planning for a new youth and community building to replace the Old Mill Keswick Youth Club which was demolished following flood damage.”
Anyone wanting to discuss the matter should email [email protected]
