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| Sir Chris Bonington falls out with Lake District conservationists over zipwire | Sir Chris Bonington falls out with Lake District conservationists over zipwire |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Britain's best-known mountaineer, Sir Chris Bonington, has resigned as vice-president of the Friends of the Lake District after the group's opposition to a 1000m mountain zipwire helped to kill the plan for the second time. | Britain's best-known mountaineer, Sir Chris Bonington, has resigned as vice-president of the Friends of the Lake District after the group's opposition to a 1000m mountain zipwire helped to kill the plan for the second time. |
| Sir Chris described Wednesday's 7-4 rejection by the national park authority's development control committee as contrary to the Lake District's best interests and an unjustifiable rejection of the advice of the park's own officers. | Sir Chris described Wednesday's 7-4 rejection by the national park authority's development control committee as contrary to the Lake District's best interests and an unjustifiable rejection of the advice of the park's own officers. |
| The vote threatens the future of one of the national park's most successful recent tourist attractions, the revived Honister slate mine between Borrowdale and Buttermere, where the zip would have run for over a kilometre down the side of the 648m (2126ft) mountain Fleetwith Pike. Its owner, Jan Wilkinson, said that her only options after the vote – the second refusal by the park – were to shut down or mount an expensive appeal. | The vote threatens the future of one of the national park's most successful recent tourist attractions, the revived Honister slate mine between Borrowdale and Buttermere, where the zip would have run for over a kilometre down the side of the 648m (2126ft) mountain Fleetwith Pike. Its owner, Jan Wilkinson, said that her only options after the vote – the second refusal by the park – were to shut down or mount an expensive appeal. |
| Sir Chris took the side of those who backed the zipwire as a novel and exciting way of attracting new and younger visitors to the fells which William Wordsworth and the 20th century guidebook master Alfred Wainwright trod. | Sir Chris took the side of those who backed the zipwire as a novel and exciting way of attracting new and younger visitors to the fells which William Wordsworth and the 20th century guidebook master Alfred Wainwright trod. |
| Honister is a working mine with large machinery clanking on part of the fellside and also offers underground coach tours and a via ferrata, or series of metal ladders and walkways along the beetling crags of the Pike. | Honister is a working mine with large machinery clanking on part of the fellside and also offers underground coach tours and a via ferrata, or series of metal ladders and walkways along the beetling crags of the Pike. |
| The huge aerial slide was designed as its ultimate attraction and would have been known as the "Zip Weir" in honour of the man who dreamed it up, local entrepreneur Mark Weir, who rescued the mine from bankruptcy and turned it into a flourishing visitor attraction. He was killed in March 2011 when the helicopter he piloted to commute to Honister crashed close to the mine in poor weather. | The huge aerial slide was designed as its ultimate attraction and would have been known as the "Zip Weir" in honour of the man who dreamed it up, local entrepreneur Mark Weir, who rescued the mine from bankruptcy and turned it into a flourishing visitor attraction. He was killed in March 2011 when the helicopter he piloted to commute to Honister crashed close to the mine in poor weather. |
| Six months later the park rejected the zipwire for the first time, but hopes had been high ahead of Wednesday's meeting after long talks with planning staff led to a lower-profile start to the run and agreement that installation would be on a pilot basis for 18 months. Officers agreed that the effects could then be considered ahead of a longer-term decision. | Six months later the park rejected the zipwire for the first time, but hopes had been high ahead of Wednesday's meeting after long talks with planning staff led to a lower-profile start to the run and agreement that installation would be on a pilot basis for 18 months. Officers agreed that the effects could then be considered ahead of a longer-term decision. |
| Opposition on landscape grounds has been equally determined, with the Friends leading an alliance of environmental groups and local authorities including both Borrowdale and Buttermere parish councils. The discussion lasted three hours, much the longest over a single application that anyone could recall, and park planning officer Andrew Roe called it "the most divisive and controversial planning application in the park's history". | Opposition on landscape grounds has been equally determined, with the Friends leading an alliance of environmental groups and local authorities including both Borrowdale and Buttermere parish councils. The discussion lasted three hours, much the longest over a single application that anyone could recall, and park planning officer Andrew Roe called it "the most divisive and controversial planning application in the park's history". |
| Recommending approval, he said that a reduction in length from 1100m to 1035, restricted use and the 18 months' independent monitoring by Cumbria University were significant changes since the first refusal in September 2011. | Recommending approval, he said that a reduction in length from 1100m to 1035, restricted use and the 18 months' independent monitoring by Cumbria University were significant changes since the first refusal in September 2011. |
| He told the meeting the proposal was ideal for the park's marketing of the Lakes as the "adventure capital of Britain" and said: "This will be a unique and exciting high-adrenaline experience and will consolidate the economic sustainability of this tourist attraction." | He told the meeting the proposal was ideal for the park's marketing of the Lakes as the "adventure capital of Britain" and said: "This will be a unique and exciting high-adrenaline experience and will consolidate the economic sustainability of this tourist attraction." |
| Honister employs 26 full-time and five part-time staff in an area with relatively few alternatives. Sir Chris said after the meeting: "The stance of Friends of the Lake District was completely out of keeping with the interests of the national park and therefore I have decided to resign my position." | Honister employs 26 full-time and five part-time staff in an area with relatively few alternatives. Sir Chris said after the meeting: "The stance of Friends of the Lake District was completely out of keeping with the interests of the national park and therefore I have decided to resign my position." |
| A spokesperson for the Friends said: "We are pleased that the Lake District National Park Authority members agreed that the scale of this proposal in this location was inappropriate and the open fell should remain free from man-made developments, protected for everyone's benefit. This is the best decision for the Lake District's wider tourism economy now and in the longer term. | A spokesperson for the Friends said: "We are pleased that the Lake District National Park Authority members agreed that the scale of this proposal in this location was inappropriate and the open fell should remain free from man-made developments, protected for everyone's benefit. This is the best decision for the Lake District's wider tourism economy now and in the longer term. |
| "The decision reaffirms the previous refusal, recognising that recreational activities reliant on man-made infrastructure and harmful to the landscape should not be allowed in sensitive locations. We support many forms of adventurous outdoor pursuits in the Lake District, for example: rock climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, swimming and fellrunning, which are enjoyed by large numbers of young – and not so young – people. | "The decision reaffirms the previous refusal, recognising that recreational activities reliant on man-made infrastructure and harmful to the landscape should not be allowed in sensitive locations. We support many forms of adventurous outdoor pursuits in the Lake District, for example: rock climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, swimming and fellrunning, which are enjoyed by large numbers of young – and not so young – people. |
| "Zipwires and GoApe tree assault courses are best located in forest settings as they are in other parts of the UK." | "Zipwires and GoApe tree assault courses are best located in forest settings as they are in other parts of the UK." |
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