A LAKE District hotel is spending £1m to build state-of-the-art accommodation for up to 30 of its staff.

The Langdale Chase Hotel, on the shores of Windermere, is tackling what its managing director described as 'one of the most difficult challenges within the industry' - the gap between low-paid jobs and high living costs.

Thomas Noblett, who heads up the hotel which opened in 1930 and sits in six acres of gardens, said: "The affluence within the Lake District means there is very little demand locally for catering jobs in contrast with the high demand for workers.

"There is a lack of affordable housing, with the costs of living far outstretching wages within the industry, making it difficult for people to move to the area who wish to seek employment within hospitality.

"Additional to this, many hotels are remotely located and local transport links do not operate to the hours demanded by the work, making it impossible for people without transport to commute from the towns."

He added: "These difficulties in attracting local staff mean that the majority of staffing is currently being sourced from other parts of the UK and British speaking natives of other EU countries. With this comes the difficulty of housing requirements associated with the influx of staff from these areas."

To combat that, Mr Noblett and his team have embarked on the scheme to develop a brand new staff accommodation block.

Planning permission has been granted for state-of-the-art bedrooms and self contained apartments.

Mr Noblett added: "Benefiting from lake views, personal space, private en-suite facilities and a common area for socialising, the block is set to be a better standard than some hotels nationally.

"Our old staff accommodation block had rooms of varying sizes and standard with shared bathroom facilities and no common room to socialise and build team spirit whereas the new block is set to be better than any I have ever seen.

"We believe heavily in reinvesting, which in this day of increased running costs, booking agency fees and financial instability is difficult to do. Our workforce is one of the most important assets we have, and we believe their comfort and well-being is paramount.

"We are proud to have many long-serving staff members and feel that it is important that they have somewhere safe and comfortable to call home. If they are happy in their working environment they will pass on this positive attitude in their efforts to achieve guest satisfaction."