THE Friends of Blencathra group – made up of campaigners dedicated to buying the Lake District mountain put up for sale by Lord Lonsdale more than a month ago – have applied to Eden District Council for the mountain to become an ‘Asset of Community Value’.

If they succeed, they could delay sale of the £1.75million fell by six months to give them time to raise funds to buy it themselves.

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However, Lord Lonsdale, who is selling the mountain to pay £9million inheritance tax following the death of his father in 2006, would not be forced to sell Blencathra to the action group even if they did raise the money.

Debbie Cosgrove, chairman of Friends of Blencathra, said: “This is what we have been saying we were going to do all along and we have passed the legal pack on to our QC. It’s all going very well.”

Paul Foote, director of legal services at Eden District Council, said: “We will now consider the application to list the mountain as a community asset and ensure it meets the statutory requirements.
“We will also consult with parish councils and the application will be determined by the executive."