NEW planting at Bowness promenade resembles "prairie weeds" and is "a miserable attempt of a garden in a very special place, claims an 82-year-old resident.

Charlie Lippett, a semi-retired property company owner, says the gardens across the road from Bowness Pier resemble "an unkempt garden going wild".

He told the Gazette the area was once "beautifully colourful" with rose trees and bedding plants, but he believes the new South Lakeland District Council planting scheme of grasses, shrubs and perennials "basically just looks like pampas grass".

"It annoys me to think in this beautiful part of the world, where we get all the international visitors, it is just an eyesore," said Mr Lippett.

"On any one day down on that promenade there must be 20 to 30,000 thousand people, maybe more. I just hope in one sense they are not looking at it."

Mr Lippett added that a new patch of turf had been rolled up and removed from Bowness Promenade after being left unwatered for ten days.

Responding to Mr Lippett's complaints, a spokesman for SLDC said a decision had been taken to move towards more permanent planting schemes, using perennials, shrubs and grasses which do not require changing twice a year and provide structure for the beds in winter.

"This is a policy not just in Bowness but across the district, and is intended to provide more sustainable displays for our residents and visitors to enjoy year-round," said the spokesman.

He said the Bowness displays were "still a work in progress" and the designs had been taken to Windermere Town Council before work started. They are by the same landscape architect who designed the planting around improvements at The Glebe nearby - with the aim to "provide interest all year, with colours and textures inspired by the Lake District landscapes through the seasons".

The spokesman added: "Once finished, we hope people will appreciate the overall effect. The new planting, even with some work still to do, has already been praised by one Windermere town councillor who recently contacted SLDC to thank our team for their work and described the revised displays as being a ‘terrific improvement’.’’