Planning row splits residents of National Park

One of the most picturesque parts of the UK is at the centre of a bitter planning row after a scheme to build 1,000 new homes in the Lake District National Park was revealed.

The local authority is putting aside land for housing troughout the lakes for the first time in its history amid complaints that local people are being priced out of the property market.

Windermere estate agent Derek Hackney told Channel 4 News: “My daughters, for instance, have both moved out of Windermere an they had to move out of the National Park to afford a decent house at an affordable price, because salaries around here don’t equate to quarter-of-a-million-pound starter homes.”

Average wages in the area are around £18,000 – but the price of the average property is £315,000.

Nevertheless, some local people are opposed to the home-building drive, which they fear will spoil beauty spots.

You could take away from the character of the village. It would become an ordinary place rather than a special place. Paul Truelove

Paul Truelove of Grasmere Village Society said: “You could take away from the character of the village. It would become an ordinary place rather than a special place.”

The Lake District National Park Authority says it wants to see the new houses built at a rate of around 60 a year until 2025 at locations around Ambleside, Windermere and Bowness, in Grasmere, Staveley and Coniston.

Spokesman Chris Warren said: “We want to work with local communities and understand the concerns they have.

“What we need to do is balance those concerns. We need to make sure those sites are suitable. That is absolutely key.”