PLANS for a new waterski and wakeboarding club in the Lake District are to be submitted in the hope that an exemption to the Windermere speed limit will be granted.

Since April 2005, a speed limit of 10 nautical mph has been in place on the lake, but one group hopes to capitalise on a bye-law to reintroduce water sports.

Paul Hardman, the power boat representative on the Windermere Lake User Forum, wants a 20 nautical mph limit introduced for a new club in which boat drivers would need to be insured and hold a licence.

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“There’s a desire from a lot of power boat users to bring back responsible and considerate skiing to the lake at the same time as being able to improve the competency of drivers,” he said.

Mr Hardman said the benefits would be widespread with driver training improving safety on the lake while also delivering an economic boost to the region.

“It would increase usage of the lake. Boat registrations and moorings are at an all-time low and also the type of person this would attract tends to be higher spending,” he added.

“It would benefit the local economy and support the infrastructure that’s already in place.

“Take myself for instance – we take our boat and two families to Loch Lomond for 10 days every year and spend a lot of money we would spend at Windermere.”

A bye-law gives the Lake District National Park Authority the ability to make exemptions to the speed limit through a five-stage process.

Steve Gaskell, the authority’s park management leader, said it was not entirely unusual for exemptions to be made, but there was still much to do for the waterski club proposal.

“They need to show how it fits in with the national park’s vision for the Lake District and how it would benefit the economy and residents,” he said.

“They will need to chat with me and then it would go out for consultation and the national park will make the decision.”

The LDNPA’s director of planning would make a judgement on any application following evaluation and consultation, with considerations including an assessment on safety, the local economy, nearby communities and other lake users’ rights.