Friends of The Lake District launches legal challenge over Elterwater zip wire in Lake District

Controversial plans to build a zip wire attraction in the Elterwater Quarry near Ambleside were approved earlier this year. Credit: Lake District National Park Authority Development Control Committee.

A Lake District charity has launched a legal appeal against plans to build a zip wire in the national park quarry.

Friends of the Lake District say they are taking action to protect the national park against a tourist development which they say "threatens its tranquillity".

In May the Lake District National Park Authority approved plans to establish an adventure attraction at Elterwater Quarry, in the heart of the Langdales.

The charity believes the development would cause "significant harm" to the character of the area and the local community and is seeking a Judicial Review of the Planning Committee’s decision.

Developers say it will allow visitors to explore parts of the cavern, that had been previously inaccessible, for a "heritage-based adventure experience".

The Planning Committee had previously rejected the proposal due to the potential increase in traffic on the area's narrow, single-track lanes.

Thousands petition against plans to turn Lake District quarry into 'theme park'

Michael Hill, CEO of Friends of the Lake District said: “Our charity has always acted as a ‘critical friend’ to the Lake District National Park Authority.

"We believe we need to speak up when decisions are made which put this precious landscape under threat.

"That is why we have asked for the High Court to review the lawfulness of the approval of this adventure attraction.”

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