A Lake District charity is considering an appeal after a judge ruled in favour of controversial proposals for a new adventure attraction in the national park.
Friends of the Lake District expressed disappointment following the ruling from Mr Justice Mould on plans for a zip wire in Elterwater Quarry near Ambleside.
The ruling came after a two-day hearing at the end of April where the judge ruled in favour of the Lake District National Park Authority which had granted permission in May 2024 for a proposal from Zip World.
The planned attraction would see platforms installed in caves with visitors exploring previously inaccessible parts of the cavern via zipline.
CEO of Friends of the Lake District Michael Hill said: “We feel that the decision to allow the tourist attraction to go ahead at Elterwater brings a step closer a Lake District of overwhelmed and degraded landscapes.
“With the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the UNESCO body set up to monitor World Heritage sites, having repeatedly stated that permission should not be granted to a development that would transform “the quarry or part of it into a theme park and trivialise the experience of an important aspect of the Lake District’s heritage”, the Lake District’s World Heritage Status should now be considered under threat.”
Mr Hill added that UNESCO World Heritage Committee had recommended that the Lake District National Park Authority refocus its plans to prioritise attractions that ‘sustain the Outstanding Universal Values’ of the area.
The Elterwater ruling comes a week after the Friends of the Lake District added its name to a letter to the Prime Minister raising concerns about plans to weaken the laws protecting National Parks and National Landscapes.
Mr Hill said the charity were consulting with legal advisers on the implications of the judgement and considering whether to appeal the decision.
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“We are now even more determined to bring about an alternative vision for tourism in the Lake District,” he said. “One where visitors both benefit from and give back to the landscape so that what is special about it remains so.
“This ruling is a setback for the Cumbrian landscape, but in our 90 years' history Friends of the Lake District has seen many of those. We remain unbowed in our determination to campaign for a Lake District that is tranquil, rich in cultural heritage and environmentally healthy and for protections in law for this and other National Parks to be maintained and strengthened."
