“Catastrophic harm” is the outcome predicted to befall Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve if revised plans for a large holiday resort in Barrow in Cumbria are allowed to go ahead.
Roanhead Lodge Resort is being developed by ILM Group and would include, 233 lodges, but the Save Roanhead campaign group argues that the new design does little to protect local wildlife.
ILM’s latest planning documents describe an “on-site containment strategy” intended to keep guests within the resort boundaries and thereby reduce the number of people visiting the protected areas nearby. The company maintains that the updated approach would “not adversely affect” the beach or surrounding habitats.
Save Roanhead has rejected that claim, saying the idea of restricting guest movement makes the holiday park resemble a “prison camp”. A spokesperson said such a strategy would fail because the kind of visitors the resort seeks to attract are likely to explore the local area. “They say the visitors are nature lovers but they won’t access the national nature reserve,” the spokesperson said. “Bringing thousands of people to a national nature reserve would cause catastrophic harm.”
Westmorland and Furness Council has not yet reached a decision on the proposal. A smaller resort planned for the same region was withdrawn earlier this year following a strong public response. Campaigners believe the high visitor numbers expected at Roanhead could “decimate the endangered species” living in the area.
Sandscale Haws is recognised for its ecological importance. It provides breeding grounds for the natterjack toad, a protected species in Britain, and serves as a seasonal refuge for around 20,000 wintering waterfowl and migratory birds including pintail, red knot and common redshank. Natural England, The National Trust and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust have all lodged formal objections to ILM’s plan.
Save Roanhead has also argued that containing guests within the resort would not contribute to the local economy. They claim that this approach undermines one of ILM’s earlier justifications for the development, which emphasised economic benefits to surrounding businesses.
In its amended submission, ILM said it expected visitors to be “ecologically responsible”. It stated that “internal pathways, bespoke amenities and controlled access to adjacent sensitive environments (e.g. Sandscale Haws) are designed to retain guests within the resort for the majority of their stay”. The company said this would reduce potential environmental impacts by eliminating “high-risk behaviours associated with dog walking, off-path exploration and mass group activity.”
