A major milestone has been reached in the journey towards establishing a transformational new gateway for Windermere and the Lake District.
Led by a partnership between the National Trust, the Lake District National Park Authority, Westmorland and Furness Council and housing developer Urban Splash, Windermere Gateway's long-term vision is to unlock opportunities for a mix of new, much-needed homes, jobs, sustainable transport connections and a world-class welcome for residents and visitors alike.
Part of the programme is a housing-allocation site at Orrest Head Farm and the first stage to unlocking that development will be improving accessibility, including upgrades to the A591, Thwaites Lane and new pedestrian and cycle links between the site and Windermere train station. Funding to support the delivery of these works is being sought through Homes England's Brownfield Infrastructure and Land fund, but is still subject to a formal grant funding agreement.
Urban Splash have now submitted a highways and access planning application to the Lake District National Park Authority.
The highways and access application, which will open up the land for housing, includes visibility and safety measures, surface material changes to better highlight the presence of the junction and encourage drivers to reduce speed and pedestrian and cyclist priority.
Urban Splash are finalising the details of a further planning application for the Orrest Head Farm housing and employment site and they will be in a position to share them with the community very soon
Joe Woolley of Urban Splash said: “Following consultation with the community we are pleased to have submitted this application. We now look forward to working through the planning process with local people, the local authority, and our partners as we seek to realise our shared vision for the future of Orrest Head Farm.”
Cllr Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Assets, said: "It’s important that highways and infrastructure improvements are made in order to facilitate the future development of the site. Funding to support the delivery of these works is being sought through Homes England's Brownfield Infrastructure and Land fund. Subject to funding being secured and the Urban Splash planning application being approved, it is proposed that Westmorland and Furness would appoint a contractor to deliver the necessary highways works.
“We will talk to residents and businesses as the highway scheme is developed, and we will do our best to minimise disruption to local residents, businesses, and visitors.”
Cllr Jonathan Brook, Leader of Westmorland and Furness Council, said: "The long-term ambition for this exciting project is to create a world-class welcome for visitors arriving in Windermere, sensitively creating an enhanced gateway to the Lake District World Heritage Site through a redeveloped station, housing and employment site and transport hub. This important first stage, if approved, will support our ambition to work with developers to enable land to be brought forward for housing development, creating more, affordable, quality housing so that local families can build a life here and young people can stay in the area. The road works will be necessary to provide the much-needed affordable housing but we also recognise that they can cause inconvenience in the short term and will work with any contractor and partners to minimise the impacts on our local community."
Orrest Head Farm is allocated in the Lake District National Park Local Plan for mixed-use development and is supported by the Windermere Gateway Transport Infrastructure Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). Click here for full details of the Supplementary Planning Document.
As part of the proposals for Orrest Head Farm, the National Trust plan to move here to a new purpose-built headquarters from its current Grasmere office.
The other projects are improvements to the existing railway station to create an enhanced sense of arrival and better facilities for rail and bus passengers to the town, offering visitors a greater, world-class welcome to the Lake District, as well as a new transport interchange, public realm interventions and improved wayfinding.
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What is the Windermere Gateway?
Windermere Gateway is a series of projects, involving landowners, businesses, stakeholders, and developers, all working together to secure a vibrant future for Windermere.
It will unlock opportunities for a mix of new homes, sustainable transport connections and a real sense of arrival for residents and visitors alike. Proposals will be progressive, yet sensitive to its world class landscape and natural beauty. It is an ambitious and considered plan for a prosperous future.
What is going to be delivered?
The Windermere Gateway Transport Infrastructure SPD, adopted in 2021, set out the ambitions to deliver the following interventions:
- Highways and Access improvements,
- Local and affordable needs housing,
- Employment space, creating a new Lake District office for the National Trust,
- Station improvements to enhance existing rail infrastructure,
- Transport interchange and Public Realm
What’s happening now?
Windermere Gateway is a long-term vision, which will require bringing forward several activities over multiple years. It is not just about immediate changes but more importantly about building a prosperous and sustainable future for Windermere and it’s community, both for now and for generations to come.
The first stage in realising the Windermere Gateway is to bring forward enabling highways and access infrastructure, which will support the future delivery of local and affordable needs homes, and National Trust Lake District office, on the Orrest Head farm site.
Where can I find out more information?
Urban Splash, developers bringing forward the housing proposals, held a public consultation event in early March 2024, providing an opportunity for the community to share their views on the highways and access improvement works.
A planning application for these highways and access proposals has now been submitted to the Lake District National Park Planning Authority. All documents related to the planning application will soon be on the Planning Authority website.
When can I find out more about the housing, employment, and station improvement proposals?
Windermere Gateway is a complex combination of projects, which will all work together to achieve the ambitions of the overall vision.
As the highways and access proposals are the current focus, there is still much further work to be done to understand the potential of the other projects in more detail. This includes clarity around number of homes to be delivered, details of the new National Trust Lake District office, identification of funding streams to bring forward station works etc, all of which are still subject to further discussions and development work.
What’s happening next and will the community be involved in these discussions going forward?
Following the submission of the highways and access application, developers Urban Splash and landowners National Trust will move their focus to progressing their designs for the housing and employment elements of the development. An outline planning application for the housing and employment proposals is anticipated towards the end of 2024.
As the project moves forward, there will be more opportunities for the community to find out about the progress being made, as well as being involved in shaping the proposals as they develop. A long-term plan for engagement is being developed by project partners and will identify future occasions for informing, consulting, and engaging with the community.
How can I find out more?
Look out for further communications around the Windermere Gateway project by visiting our web pages:
Westmorland and Furness Council.
Lake District National Park Authority.
National Trust.
Urban Splash.
Click here to receive regular newsletter updates to be kept informed on progress.
Project Partners
We will continue to work with Lake District National Park Authority, Network Rail, Windermere and Bowness Town Council, the National Trust and their development partner, Urban Splash, as well as key landowners/local businesses to deliver the Windermere Gateway.