A LAKE District conservation charity has upheld its opposition to a 150-space car park to serve visitors to Cat Bells near Portinscale.

Friends of the Lake District has announced its objection to a proposed cark park at Ullock Moss and shuttle bus turning facility at Cupboard Field.

The proposal, twice recommended for refusal by the Lake District National Park Authority in 2021 and 2023, was submitted by the Lingholm Private Trust.

The planning statement, submitted in support of the application, says that previous application were refused partly due traffic regulation measures, such as the addition of double yellow lines and parking enforcement, not being fully trialled.

It says: "The Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) has now been made permanent.

"Highway safety issues have persisted and there have been a high number of tickets issued on a regular basis.

"The fact that tickets are still regularly being issued, when the parking restrictions have been in place for almost two years, indicates that they have not adequately addressed the highway safety issues caused by inappropriate and unsafe parking.

"The local highway authority has recognised that there is an ongoing issue and that all regulatory measures have been exhausted."

Concerns were also raised by the LDNPA about the visual impact of the car park, thought the statement argues that providing parking for cars that would otherwise be parked on the main road, along with landscaping, would be visually beneficial.

A Friends of the Lake District statement on the applications says: "The LDNPA took enforcement action in August 2022, because of work undertaken by the applicant to create a temporary car park at the site.

“The applicant appealed against this, but a planning inspector upheld the LDNP's enforcement notice.

“In doing so, he confirmed that the unauthorised works undertaken to facilitate a temporary car park at this location had caused harm to the landscape character and visual appearance of the area and to the World Heritage Site.

“This case is not just about whether or this particular proposal is appropriate or not.

“There is a lot more at stake, including undermining the Lake District National Park Authority’s own plans for sustainable travel, reducing car travel and carbon emissions, and setting a precedent for temporary car parks to become permanent.”