One of the nation's most beautiful settings with stunning lake and fell views and popular since the Victorian times this site has deteriorated significantly in the face of increased visitor numbers and is literally worn-out. This scheme will re-create hard and soft landscaping and sympathetically improve physical and intellectual access increasing awareness of the heritage and cultural importance of the site.

The project aims to improve physical and intellectual access to one of the UK's premier landscapes by conserving the environment of the Derwentwater Foreshore, treating natural erosion and managing high-volume use. The built and natural environment will be regenerated to maximise the potential of the high quality landscape and improve circulation/seating/resting area provision. On-site interpretation will be provided through print and display material and discrete aesthetic enhancements. Conservation will involve treating eroded features, ad-hoc repairs, hazards and pollutants, and implementing a landscape design scheme through consultation with the public that is of equal quality to the landscape it reveals.

Wide consultation has taken place and the scheme has public approval. Site users will be questioned before and after implementation of the scheme. In the wake of the foot & mouth epidemic there is a strong need to reinvigorate the tourist infrastructure of the town. Although difficult to quantify as a 'measure of success' this is an integral part of the performance expected of the scheme. The LDNPA and the National Trust will monitor and collate information relating to the site. Landowners have conducted risk assessments on site, which highlight the need for action on certain points and the need to provide additional seating. The resolution of these issues will be a measure of success. The aim of the scheme is to secure and conserve an important heritage site. The implementation of the scheme represents a managed and strategic solution to the future life of the site through partnership working. The scheme will minimise vehicular use of the foreshore in line with public opinion.

The Foreshore has been a tourist facility/attraction since early Victorian times. The site was/is the main point of embarkation for the Derwentwater launches. Boating has determined the character of the built environment. Allerdale Borough Council owns this part of the site.

The romantic viewpoint 'Friar's Crag', so named after the friars who visited St. Herbert on his island, was said by John Ruskin (1819-1900) to be the first 'event in life' that he remembered, and is approached via the foreshore. 'Friar's Crag' was amongst the first landholdings of the National Trust. Its purchase (for the benefit of the Nation) is dedicated to National Trust Founder Canon Hardwicke Drummond-Rawnsley (1851-1920), a local, in a significant, historic inscription on the foreshore path.

The site is at the heart of the National Park Authority area whose conservation brief in respect of landscapes of romantic or sublime value, enshrined in legislation in 1947, was anticipated by the founding of the National Trust.

The local tourist industry emerged from the appreciation of the Romantic Sublime as developed by Wordsworth, the Lake Poets and Ruskin. The dramatic landscapes at the heart of this experience are to be seen from this location. In the Victorian era the boats became one of the principal diversions and destinations for tourists. Ticket touts from the ferry companies would escort tourists to the foreshore having greeted them at the station.

The landscape of the major Lake-District settlements, including Keswick, is dominated by the influence of the Victorians. The use and development of this site as a recreation area dates from this time. The site has free and level access throughout.

The Lake-District is the subject of a World Heritage Site bid being developed by The National Trust and National Park Authority. The spirit of this bid is to engage with, interpret and conserve that heritage and the principle of open access to the high quality landscape and the cultural experience it represents.

The project will restore the site as a high quality recreation area linked to the natural assets of an exceptional landscape setting and the approach to 'Friar's Crag'. The design scheme is based on three areas; Activity area - at the foreshore embarkation point to facilitate heavy pedestrian use; Transition area - a lower intensity of use; and a Naturalized area - on land owned by the National Trust. Here access to the lakeshore will not be formalised and there will be a minimum of hard surfacing. Overall the scheme aims to tackle footpath and shoreline erosion and to refurbish low-grade patched asphalt with sympathetic materials capable of withstanding the impact of millions of visitors and resolve conflict of interest arising from commercial and vehicular use of the site. The area has suffered from decades of ad-hoc repairs and has lacked a consistent and strategic approach to signage and services. The de-criminalisation of car parking and the consequent role of local authorities in parking enforcement is a catalyst to this process. It is proposed to improve and upgrade the facilities on site in such a way as to minimise the possibility that they may detract from the impact of the landscape itself whilst at the same time improving the safety of the site and providing for greater physical access. A strong theme of the consultation was that the scheme should look unobtrusive and this has been respected.

The site has close links with the Keswick Conservation Area, only a short walk away in the town centre and formally extends the provision of managed, conservation led refurbishment. In this it links with the refurbishment of the Moot Hall, The Lake Road pedestrianisation scheme, The treatment of Lower Lake Road and the refurbishment of Hope Park together with the construction of sympathetic new building 'Theatre by the Lake' which have replaced the temporary structures of the 'Century Theatre'.

Part of the project area is wooded, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and erosion caused by wave action is de-stabilising scenically valuable trees. The scheme proposes a solution to this problem as it is proposed to protect these trees and also to prevent erosion of natural lakeshore plant communities by managing access.

In addition the Foreshore falls within the area nominated for the European designation 'Special Area of Conservation'.

The Lake-District has 12,000,000 visitors/22,000,000 visitor days per year. Keswick is a major destination. Keswick Tourist Information Centre logged 400,000 visitors in 2001. Most visitors to Keswick and locals visit this site. Theatre by the Lake has upwards of 120,000 destination visits a year.

Intellectual access to the site and its cultural significance has been addressed through new direct interpretation to be provided by leaflet (National Trust) and by texts created within Allerdale Borough Council's Heritage and Arts Unit and incorporated into the scheme. In addition proposals have been commissioned from a poet, Angela Locke, and a Sculptor, Peter Randall-Page. Both have proposed 'discrete' interventions that will enhance the aesthetic experience of those who chance upon them and offer a contemporary interpretation of the value of the landscape.

The potential for the commission of interpretive drama and performance on site is to be explored by the Heritage and Arts Unit.

Design proposals have been examined, supported and endorsed by Allerdale Disability Association.

Provision for intellectual access to the site is to be developed for the first time.

The project aims to improve the site's accessibility to a wide section of the visiting public.

The scheme will be compliant with policies for equal opportunities adopted by Allerdale Borough Council and the Lake District National Park Authority and the National Trust.

The project is steered by a group including representatives of five local organisations. A consultative public display of design proposals was held in May 1999 and a further display in March 2001 to present the developed project. Both received support. Further consultation is to be undertaken prior to any award of grant.

The lead applicant is Allerdale Borough Council supported by the National Trust. The site is within the Lake District National Park which is represented on the steering group. Also represented on the steering group are Keswick Town Council and Keswick Civic Society. The scheme is specifically included in the LDNPA corporate plan and a cash commitment has been reserved on this basis.

The project is in line with the Rural White Papers and the creation of the Rural Action Zone (RAZ). The tourist economy is extremely important to Keswick. The council is keen to promote investment in the quality of the tourist infrastructure in the wake of the economic damage caused by the foot & mouth outbreak and seeks 'trickle down' benefits from cultural investment in Keswick.

Local employment will arise from the execution of the capital scheme. No subsequent or sustainable increase in employment is foreseen.

The scheme is designed to minimise vehicular use of the site benefiting pedestrian enjoyment and safety. The site will significantly improve the physical environment in proximity to the newly constructed Theatre by the Lake funded by grants from the Arts Council Lottery and Allerdale Borough Council amongst others.