I am writing to express my concern over the proposed development of a 72-bedroom hotel on the site of the former Kelsick school site.

There is local expectation and an acceptance that the site be used (in a sympathetic way) to benefit Ambleside and the local community given that it has been vacant for some time now. However, this proposal is entirely unsuitable for the old school site for several reasons.

The main reason that I object to this plan is the unsuitability of Stockghyll Lane as an access road for such a large, out of scale development. The road is used as the only pedestrian access from Ambleside to Stockghyll Park and Falls, an extremely popular short walk from the centre of Ambleside. During weekends and holidays hundreds of families meander slowly up the lane using all parts of the road as they gaze distractedly at the ghyll and woodland on both sides of the road - it can get very busy with pedestrians. The introduction of hundreds of extra cars and lorries on a daily basis up this narrow lane can only be viewed as an unacceptable safety hazard.

At full capacity and assuming one trip per day from the hotel guests, approximately 25 users of the conference, spa, wedding facilities, approximately 25 permanent staff cars, 10 contractors and 10 deliveries, Stockghyll Lane would have to support an extra 300 journeys up and down the lane. This could easily be a lot more on some days and fewer on others. Stockghyll Lane is effectively single track for a good distance out of Ambleside and up much of its length. There is a high risk of bottleneck backups effectively blocking the one way system in town and on the lane itself, driver confusion and danger as pedestrians weave in and out of traffic, not to mention the odd speeding driver on the straight run.

Aside from traffic issues, the proposal to demolish 75 per cent of the original building will change the character of the area in a detrimental way. The existing buildings are of a traditional slate construction, appear structurally sound and are in keeping with the surrounding environment and architecture of the rest of Ambleside. The new building 'tips its hat' to traditional methods but relies largely on metal cladding/glass/and large flat roofs to provide a utility type building which is completely out of character for Ambleside.

Lastly, because of the population demographic in Ambleside, there is a good chance the staff will be drawn from further afield, leading to even further traffic issues.

A much better use would be to use the existing buildings as much as possible to provide either affordable housing/holiday apartments/a smaller hotel or a mixed use development with a traffic profile that is in proportion to the capacity that Sockghyll Lane can realistically be expected to cope with.

Greig Turner

Ambleside