A PETITION to stop a 116-year-old outdoor education centre from being turned into luxury holiday lodges has been signed by more than 1,400 objectors.

The Holker Group has submitted a change of use application to South Lakeland District Council to turn the Humphrey Head Activity Centre on the Cartmel Peninsula into 18 luxury holiday lodges - and opposition to the plans is fierce.

The Humphrey Head site is currently run by Mere Mountains as an outdoor education and training centre with bunk accommodation for young people.

The petition to save the 'valuable community asset' was started by Rich Higham-Thompson and supported by Independent South Lakeland District Councillor for Grange Fiona Hanlon.

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Cllr Hanlon has also encouraged people with objections to write to SLDC, and has offered to assist in the process.

"The petition is going well, but what we need now are real objections, put in writing, explaining how these lodges are wrong on so many levels," she said.

"Firstly, the Holker Group refer to Humphrey Head as an 'ex-centre' - this is simply untrue - it is a fully functioning ongoing concern, with full and part-time staff and healthy bookings diary, including groups from Prince's Trust.

"The Holker Group says that the centre suffered financially because of the Covid pandemic and is unsustainable.

"But the centre actually came through as well or better than most outdoor education centres as they diversified and returned to doing non-residential work including rowing boat hire for Fell Foot and family sessions. 

"Rent and salaries were paid thanks to government Covid grants and assistance and diversification kept staff and premises used. 

"The centre has just invested £26,000 in improvements, and had asked Holker Estates to develop a longer-term plan for the upgrading of the centre."

Allithwaite and Cartmel Parish Council are due to discuss the issue this Thursday, and many locals have already submitted written objections - with 21 officially registered to date, and many more to come, according to Clr Hanlon.

The objections relate to the loss of a 'place of calm and peaceful recreation', the effect on the flora and fauna of the area by such a development, the lack of access, utilities, transport, increased light pollution, the impact on the landscape, and fundamentally, the loss of a long-treasured institution.

READ MORE: Petition to prevent loss of education centre for holiday lets gather pace