PLANS to enclose a large area of Farleton Knott for livestock grazing have been slammed by a national pressure group.

Farleton Knott Commoners' Association has been granted permission to erect a 550-metre fence across the common west of Puddlemire Lane.

But the Open Spaces Society claims the enclosure will 'interfere with people's enjoyment of this open landscape'.

Livestock is already grazed on Farleton Knott, but the commoners who use the land are understood to have applied for permission to build the fence because they want to keep mountain and trail bikes away from their animals.

The Open Spaces Society, Britain’s leading national pressure-group for common land, said it was 'dismayed' that the Planning Inspectorate had permitted the application.

The society said the limestone hill was 'of outstanding natural beauty and interest for its geology and flora and fauna, and the public has the right to walk there'.

The application was for works on common land under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006.

Ian Brodie, a Cumbria representative of the Open Spaces Society, said: ‘The Open Spaces Society recognises the importance of appropriate grazing on this extensive area, especially given the interest in the flora and the limestone pavement which are so special.

"However, we are greatly disappointed that the Planning Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Environment, has allowed a damaging scheme to go forward when there had been no consultation with interested parties to try to find a more acceptable way of achieving a shared objective."

Kate Ashbrook, the society’s general secretary, said: ‘The Open Spaces Society helped to pioneer A Common Purpose, which is a process which encourages applicants for works on a common to consult all interested parties first, and this has been endorsed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We are sorry that the commoners have apparently ignored this and that the fence will now be erected in the face of our opposition.’

The fell has been recommended by Natural England for inclusion in the Arnside-Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty because of its splendid qualities.