Queensland Country Park
The Roanhead Resort is the larger of two holiday park proposals for Roanhead.
Queensland Country Park Ltd. want to build a further 62 lodges, and create 40 pitches for caravans, next door to the original resort.
This second development is only at the screening application stage, and a planning application is not expected until 2024. However, maps are available on the council's planning portal.
Main access for the Queensland Country Park Ltd. site would be from Hawthwaite Lane, closer to the A590 than the Roanhead Resort.
Nonetheless, this application still relies upon the 4 passing places proposed in Mr. Coutts' application, which are on privately owned land and likely to be refused permission by the landowners.
Lodges are large, comprising living rooms, dining areas and multiple bedrooms. This image is from the planning portal, where it is possible to zoom in to the map for a detailed view. This particular lodge sits alarmingly close to the slopes of the collapsed mine / pond. Buildings have been known to 'slip' into these ponds - in fact, the Curtis brothers talk of the old Roanhead farm house having fallen into Nigel pond in their promotional video for the other holiday park.
Risks and causes for concern
The Queensland application site is on potentially dangerously unstable land which was mined for iron ore until 1942. It borders the deep ponds at Roanhead which are collapsed mine shafts. Some of the holiday lodges are to be built perilously close to the collapsed mines, above the steep slopes of the deep ponds.
Significant works have already begun on Queensland Country Park land, where young trees have been felled and scrub cleared to make way for gravel tracks by the fishing ponds.
A separate application (BPA4/2023/0632) was made to the council to see if planning permission is necessary to build a 24m ‘forestry equipment barn’ on the site. This was refused, which means a full planning application will be required. The planning decision is available to read here.
An area of car park used by Furness Fishing Association has been dug up and used for extensive gravel tracks. This is contaminated slag and foundry waste which has been buried for over 50 years.
For more information on the Queensland Country Park screening application, see ref BSS/2023/0585 in the Westmorland & Furness planning portal. Please be aware that this is only a preliminary application to see if an Environmental Impact Assessment is required. It is not a planning application.
The Caravan & Motorhome Club
An application was lodged with the Caravan & Motorhome Club for 5 touring caravan pitches to be situated on the rabbit warren close to Roanhead Cottages. (Exact location unknown.)
We understand that this has been refused with intervention from the authorities, because of the special designations for Roanhead.