Strategic Rationale

The interested governance bodies responsible for the custodianship of the Lake District National Park are arguably at a seminal moment in respect of assessing what its future and raison d’être ought rightfully to be: and how to realise it in a sustainable manner. An adopted vision exists that “The Lake District National Park will be an inspirational example of sustainable development” and may achieve UNESCO Inscription World Heritage Site status.

Interested stakeholders have over recent years generated a plethora of documentation bringing together an unrivalled body of knowledge from which evidence based policy making should ordinarily lead to the contemporary nurturing of naturally occurring sophisticated transformational change: embodied in the Lake District National Park Business Plan 2010-2013: policy, design, implementation, effectiveness, achievement. (click here)

Despite the aspirations, assessments and analysis there is real grave danger that potential World Heritage Site status will be achieved coincidently with the failure of the 4 key identified elements: sustainable development: a prosperous economy, world class visitor experiences, vibrant communities and a spectacular landscape, due to a lack of sufficient critical mass to be sustainable, especially as the “Credit Crunch” will undermine the viability of many presumed opportunities.  

Contemporarily, the Lake District National Park does not have a prosperous economy due to an identified severe shortage of employment land and added value knowledge based jobs. It generally does not offer world class visitor experiences due to lack of education and expectation management. Its communities are currently not vibrant due to lack of housing affordability, access to decent employment and historically underinvested infrastructure. Appreciation of its spectacular landscape and derivation of inspiration from it remains the preserve of the educated and the elite rather than a broader society.

At Ratherheath the opportunity exists, without compromising the Outstanding Unique Value of the LDNP, to create transformational change by cultivating a unique situation where it is possible to use “scenario planning” to be a catalyst and bring certainty to achieve the fulfilment of many expressed aspirations of the Lake District National Park Partnership.  

The site specific attributes of size at 15.5 hectares, compact configuration, topographical development absorption capacity, access to utility services, location on the principal arterial transport route into the Lake District National Park, and juxtaposition at the heart of the dominant economic and social functionality area make its consequent spatial planning significance unrivalled: representing a potential £70M + investment opportunity.

If “scenario planning” can be embraced the site could, within the existing adopted planning policy framework, be the much needed employment park necessary to ensure a prosperous economy. Duality of purpose could allow the consequential transportation related infrastructure of the employment site to function as an integrated modal transfer facility: significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the Lake District National Park.

Stagecoach, due to the excellent juxtaposition of Ratherheath, is highly supportive of the proposal. The independently assessed conclusion is that it will be possible to improve the existing 555 Kendal to Windermere service from once hourly to every 15 minutes, and by linking it in to the established 599 Windermere – Bowness - Grasmere route, a significant impact could be made on traffic congestion in the central Lake District.

The commitment of Stagecoach to the education and modal transfer of visitors at Ratherheath will secure the most effective method of reducing the carbon footprint of the Lake District and would allow other meaningful transport initiatives to be cultivated from it.

Highway access to the site could readily be designed to be a signature Lake District National Park gateway: an unambiguous distinguished boundary with an educational orientation and interpretative centre communicating the world class visitor experience to be received from the spectacular landscape to come.  

Allocation of the site for the desired purposes would also provide a mechanism to enable the release and reallocation of unsuitable employment land for the development of Affordable Housing.

Ratherheath is a potentially transformational site: effective and with foreseeable uplifting impact on the Outstanding Unique Value of the whole of the Lake District National Park.