Cumbria Wildlife Trust is relieved to learn that the revised planning application for the Roanhead Farm redevelopment near Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve, which included a holiday park with 233 cabins and associated leisure and retail facilities, has been rejected by Westmorland and Furness Council (Monday 24 November).

Along with other nature and landscape charities, the wildlife charity objected to the serious threat that the Roanhead planning application would have posed to the internationally-significant nature reserve at Sandscale Haws, which is managed by the National Trust, and the wider Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary.

Stephen Trotter, CEO, Cumbria Wildlife Trust said: 

“One of our major concerns was about the impact of the footfall and trampling by thousands of additional visitors disturbing this fragile ecosystem. The nature reserve and estuary provides a refuge to some of the rarest and most protected species in the UK. The proposed development would have been immediately next to highly sensitive sand dune habitats, with rare and threatened wildlife including the biggest population of natterjack toads in Britain, otters, large numbers of threatened wading birds, unusual plants and the rare spring mining bee. The extra disturbance and pressure may have put at risk much of this special wildlife and some may have disappeared altogether. This was the wrong location for a holiday resort of this size; it would have been too close to this important and irreplaceable wildlife site.    

“Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve, which is managed by the National Trust, is a much-loved local jewel for the residents of Barrow-in-Furness and Askam. We’re very grateful to everyone who joined us in objecting to this planning application, in particular the 1,178 people, many of them Cumbria Wildlife Trust members and supporters, who quickly responded to our call out to send their views to Westmorland and Furness Council.  This shows the importance of listening to local people and working alongside our partner organisations and communities. Together, we can all take action for nature and protect Cumbria’s wildlife and wild places for the future.”

A coalition of nature and landscape charities joined forces to object to the serious threat to the internationally-significant nature reserve at Sandscale Haws and the wider Morecambe Bay and Duddon estuary. Friends of the Lake District, National Trust, Woodland Trust, RSPB, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust and Cumbria GeoConservation have worked closely with local community group ‘Save Roanhead’, which was set up to campaign against the proposals.

Read more about Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s objection to the proposals at Roanhead here:

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/save-roanheads-wildlife