Iconic beauty spot Stickle Tarn is officially an Asset of Community Value

It means community groups would have six months to raise the money to try to buy it if it was put back on the market by the Lake District National Park Authority.

South Lakeland District Council is also considering applications for five other locations, including Brockhole Visitor Centre, to become Assets of Community Value.

The Langdale Valley Association applied for Stickle Tarn to be listed as a community asset by SLDC in response to the announcement in March it had been put up for sale for £25,000.

However, while the sale would be halted for six months, LDNPA would still retain full control of who the land was eventually sold to.

Langdale Valley Association member Jean Birkett said: “We wanted the National Park to know that we weren’t happy with what they were doing. They didn’t discuss the sale with local people and it belongs to the nation so it shouldn’t have been put on the market in the first place. We hope the National Park have learnt their lesson from this and will talk to the local people about what they are doing in future.”

David Sykes, Director of People and Places at SLDC, approved the application because it ‘serves local social interest and wellbeing’.

“It’s mainly to stop things happening as a surprise to local communities,” said Mr Sykes. “Social wellbeing is quite a broad church but it’s the idea of enjoyment, recreation, access to special places that are cherished by local communities. Stickle Tarn is a piece of land and water that is enjoyed by the public and cherished by local people and we believe it fitted our criteria.”

A statement from the LDNPA said it would now work within the process and added it was ‘always happy to work with the local community’.

The Rydal Valley Association submitted applications on Tuesday for Brockhole Visitor Centre, Blue Hill and Red Bank Wood, Penny Rock and White Moss, Lady Wood and Bannerigg to become assets of community value - the decision is expected to take up to eight weeks.

The Gazette submitted a Freedom of Information request to the LDNPA to reveal the names of the buyers of Lady Wood, Grasmere, and a patch of land in Keswick, as well as the prices paid for both plots. The LDNPA refused, stating the information was accessible by other means. The Gazette has appealed the decision, forcing an internal review into the decision by the LDNPA - the result of which is expected by May 28 - and also referred the matter to the Information Commissioner.