AN influential campaigning and lobbying organisation has been controversially forced to fold silencing thousands of users of a busy Cumbrian lake.

The Windermere Lake Users Forum (WLUF) has been wrapped up and will no longer give 8,000 people a voice over what happens on the ten mile stretch of water.

Forum members claim the shut down is a result of the group being written out of future plans for the lake by the Lake District National Park Authority and South Lakeland District Council. They claim it is because their members are passionate about projects the two local authorities do not want to do anything about.

But the LDNPA and SLDC say the forum, which is made up of groups of power boaters, sailors, environmentalists and entrepreneurs, was set up to feed views into the Windermere Management Strategy document and now that has been completed it is no longer required.

The WLUF represented the varied and sometimes conflicting views of a wide range of lake user groups and has a say about the number of vessels on the lake, placement of public jetties and has got involved in the debate over the potential scrapping of the 10mph speed limit for water ski groups.

Users of the lake fear that, without the forum's influence and recommendations, Windermere will not be managed with their best interests in mind.

"We are telling the LDNPA and SLDC things they don't want to hear, so they are removing us," said WLUF chairman Carole Shaw, who also sat on the Windermere Management Strategy Working Group. "This is far from voluntary. The users of the lake are very disappointed."

Ms Shaw said that while sitting on the working group she made it known that it did not have teeth and just received reports while constantly being told projects were 'in progress.'

"We were then told that there would be a review of the group, and it did not meet again for two years while a consultant was brought in to review it," she said. "The consultant came up with a completely new plan to replace the old strategy document, and I do not know anybody who uses the lake who supports this plan.

"That plan did not include WLUF at all. They said they do not need us anymore and that they do not believe we represent the views of the lake users."

Steve Gaskell, park management leader of the LDNPA, also speaking on behalf of SLDC, said the forum was set up to advise on the delivery of the Windermere Management Strategy, which was co-produced in 2005 by the two authorities.

"Nearly all the actions from the strategy action plans have been delivered," he explained.

A new Windermere Lake Action Plan 2017-2022 was adopted by LDNPA and SLDC in October 2017.

Mr Gaskell said: "We want to provide opportunities for a broader range of interested people and organisations to get involved.

"In practice this could include direct contact with LDNPA and SLDC lake services staff, through local clubs and organisations, better use of digital and social media, community representatives and the possibility of annual events."

Mr Gaskell explained that the new plan was created with input from a wide range of users and local communities. He said it focussed on a smaller number of new actions that are not part of existing strategies or plans.

"This national park and SLDC recognise the forum's passion and commitment, but we have identified the potential for direct user input through more varied means to allow more effective delivery," he added.

"This new approach does not exclude the forum given it is independent, and if it wants to continue it can do so, but without direct support of the LDNPA or SLDC."

Mrs Shaw said that those on the forum disagreed with any suggestion that the strategy had served its purpose.

"They argue that they have achieved the objectives of the strategy document, and so a new plan is needed. But they have not achieved anything for the user experience. We believe that they are overselling the idea that they have completed their objectives.

"The last reports, which came in 2016, showed us that the number of boats on the lake was the lowest ever. The authority reported a growth in the number of registered boats, but that could be anything from a rubber dinghy with an outboard motor.

"What we saw was a decrease in the number of renewals, and the net figure for the lake was that of fewer boats. This doesn't suggest that people are happy."

The belief that this decision is not made in the best interests of all Windermere users is one that is shared by some members of SLDC.

Windermere councillor Ben Berry, whose family run Low Wood Bay Marina watersports centre, said that the folding of the forum is something his party would seek to reverse were they in power.

"Essentially what is happening is the national park and the council don't like what the users forum are saying about the lake so they are closing it down." he said. "The people on the forum put in a lot of time and effort to represent their fellow users and they do a good job of bringing to the fore issues relating to the lake, for example the need for more public jetties.

"The closure of the forum is disappointing because the lake is not just an asset for the national park and the council, but for other people as well.

"It has been done in an underhand way. Nobody knew about this until we saw that the plan did not include the WLUF."