A BITTER row has escalated over an application to build 20 holiday lodges as part of a ‘farm diversification project’ near Windermere.

Low Moor Howe Farm Ltd's proposal to build the lodges on land north of Rosthwaite Farm has already been rebuffed twice by the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) for several reasons including visual impact and access.

The latest application includes a Statement of Need citing financial losses by the farm business as a reason the holiday lodges should be allowed, and an alteration to the proposed new access road.

Shooting activities also take place on the estate, though the applicant deems this as separate from the farm business.

READ MORE: Objections lodged to third application for holiday park after previous withdrawals

A flood of objections from locals have already been lodged, as, more recently, have 13 letters of support.

The letters welcoming the proposal are all worded near-identically, but signed by different people -  something which a resident of nearby Bellman Ground, and long-standing objector to the proposal, Jacqueline Beech, pointed out to the LDNPA.

She wrote: "It is clear that (the shoot) is an integral part of the activities undertaken on the estate yet it has not contributed financially to the farm business in recent years if at all (despite assertions to the contrary in the earlier withdrawn applications for planning).

"The directors of the company must provide the accounts of the shoot if the position is to be maintained that the shoot should be excluded from consideration is to be tested.

"(The letters submitted) fail to put their support in the correct context -  that they are sent by those connected to the shoot in response to Brian Scowcroft 'reaching out' for assistance, using the shoot as a vehicle to drum up support for the application.

"The letters of support contain bare assertions including that the signatories have reviewed and assessed the application (which is unlikely) and make vague assessments about the number of vehicle movements in the context of the size of the estate (which is not the criteria) and the visual impact of both the proposed site and of the suitability of the proposed access.

"There is nothing in the letters which suggest that any independent assessment has been made of any of those matters. 

“In light of the above, we submit that no weight should be attached to the letters of support.”