LAKE District planners have rejected plans for a major extension at a well-known South Lakes car showroom and garage because of fears it would harm the landscape.

Bosses at Hadwins Volkswagen, of Lindale, near Grange-over-Sands, had applied for permission to more than double the size of their existing garage workshop and triple the size of the overspill car park. The proposals would have created eight new workshop bays and 30 extra parking spaces.

The company said the site, which lies outside the village development boundary on the B5277, had become congested and the changes were needed to comply with new regulations on car retailing and servicing.

They warned that if the expansion was refused they could lose their main dealer franchise, putting local jobs at risk.

But the Lake District National Park Authority's principal planner David Buylla told the development control committee that he had "grave concerns" about the landscape impact of the plans. In particular, he felt the car park extension would expand the site onto previously undeveloped land in the open countryside.

The steeply rising nature of the land behind the site meant that the car park would be prominent from the public footpath on Sheep Barrow, the hill behind the site, as well as from more distant view points and the road.

Mr Buylla said members needed to weigh this landscape harm against the social and economic benefits of the development. The company, which also runs Hadwins Audi, based in the centre of the village, is a major employer in the area employing a total of 67 people mainly from Grange, Lindale and Newby Bridge. In his view the harm would be "unacceptable" and he recommended that the development control committee reject the scheme.

Coun Peter Phizacklea said the authority had made every effort to help the company stay in Lindale.

"We've really tried to accommodate Hadwins," he said. "In fact, we've bent over backwards. But it appears they're outgrowing the village."

Secretary of State appointee Dr Duncan Jeffray proposed deferring the decision for a site visit because of the company's importance as a local employer.

But a majority of members agreed with the officer's recommendation to refuse the scheme.