Plans have been submitted to allow a caravan park on Walney to operate for the entire year.

Currently South End Caravan Park cannot have any occupants between January 15 and March 1 to prevent the establishment of permanent residency on the property, as well as protecting the local environment.

In 2020, a previous application was submitted and subsequently rejected, with the latest attempts hoping that, by working with environmental agencies, they can convince the council to reverse their earlier decision.

The application said: "It is considered that there is a great deal of common ground between all parties in relation to the importance of the ecology in the area and, accordingly with this application, we would strongly encourage discussions between the parties in relation to the environmental concerns and mitigation measures.

"It is proposed that the agreed measures to be conditioned in the planning permission and to be put in place prior to the extension of the holiday season being implemented."

Those behind the application described how the caravan park makes an 'important' contribution to the local area, which would be enhanced through the longer period of operation.

They argued that they were following the growing trend of caravan parks across the country which have been allowed to run all year long to deal with an increase in public demand.

"This application, if approved, will allow this local, family-run business to compete with larger holiday park operators in the region," said the application.

"The applicant agrees with the comments that this is a remote site which is unsuitable for residential use, but its location makes it ideal for all year round use by customers wanting to experience the beautiful, unspoilt landscape of Walney Island during the winter months."

In response to concerns about the visual impact of prolonged operations, the application pointed out that the caravans remain on the site all the time regardless.

And, with South Walney Nature Reserve roughly one kilometre away from the caravan park, they argued that a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) had determined that the impact to 'resident species' would not increase significantly.