Derwentwater foreshore project
Summary
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.
Aims
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.
Consultation
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.
Heritage
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.
Objectives
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.
Cultural Assets, Regeneration and Art/Heritage initiatives in
Keswick
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'.
Designations
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'.
Visitor use
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.
Access and interpretation
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.
Equal opportunities
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.
How is the project being steered?
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.