Elterwater Quarry developer says it can be a unique experience

The Elterwater Quarry site owner and developer is Burlington Stone which operates under the Holker group. 

Zip World has teamed up with Burlington Stone to help deliver the project, which will allow visitors to explore parts of the cavern that had been previously inaccessible for a 'heritage-based adventure experience.' Platforms will be installed in the caves at points of interest, and visitors will travel from one platform to another via zipline. 

Park planners have recommended the development for approval ahead of a meeting on Wednesday.

People exploring the caverns on the Elterwater Quarry site (Image: Submitted)

Allen Gibb, the chief executive officer of Holker, said: "We’re applying for permission to develop an active, educational heritage asset that will be almost fully enclosed inside the caverns at Elterwater. This is a unique geological asset and this experience could not be created anywhere else.

"While Burlington Stone has permission to continue quarrying on site until 2040, they’re bringing forward these plans alongside the ongoing quarrying work to help reinvent the site in a genuinely sustainable and responsible way that also preserves its rich history.

READ MORE: Elterwater Quarry recommended for approval to committee

"Officers at the Lake District National Park Authority share our vision, and have recommended our plans for approval in their recent report and we hope to be able to move forward with our plans in the near future.”

The International Council on Monuments and Sites, the advisory body to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, called the site 'a theme park' that threatened to trivialise the historic heritage of the Lake District and Great Langdale's 'distinctive and almost intact agro-pastoral character.' 

The planning application received hundreds of letters of representation (Image: Submitted)

However, the planning report that will be given to the committee making the final decision in Kendal said that the applicant had demonstrated the highway network could accommodate people travelling by car. 

The report said that the development would not have a harmful impact on the landscape or the character of the area as the car park is within the quarry. 

If the committee agrees with the terms set out by the report, the proposal will be approved on the condition that the site can only open between 8am and 6.30pm, and that the explorer route will not be used by more than 294 people per day.