HALF a million pounds of investment has helped kickstart a six-year project to change the face of a popular Lake District tourist spot.

Fell Foot Park, on the shores of Windermere, is to become the home of a new sports facility as part of a wider-reaching renovation project.

It comes as park chiefs claim its facilities have become “tired” and no longer meet the expectations of modern-day visitors.

The first stage of the project is the building of a new sports facility right on the shoreline, made possible thanks to £500,000 of funding from Sport England. Fell Foot Active Base is set to open in spring 2018, with the park remaining open as usual throughout the summer.

The lakeshore has been flooded every winter, often experiencing up to 8ft of water, rendering facilities out of action for many months and costing thousands to repair. The new building will be sited out of this at-risk area.

Of the new facility, Steph Byast, Fell Foot operations manager, said: “Visitors can use it as a base for self-led activity, experiencing ‘taster’ sessions for various activities, or they can take the plunge and join as a club member if they wish to participate regularly. Membership will be set at a realistic price compared to other similar clubs in the Lake District, and will provide much enhanced facilities.”

Fell Foot Active Base will include new changing rooms and showers for those taking part in any kind of sport, from swimmers, sailors, canoers and rowers to runners, walkers and cyclists. It will be home to a club and community social space and meeting rooms, fit for training courses, yoga, buggy fit and other activities.

The new sports facility will also feature covered and outdoor storage, workshop space and upgrades to the jetties and slipway provision. The new facilities will continue to provide a home for South Windermere Sailing Club, which has been based at Fell Foot since 1961, and Windermere Rowing Club, which joined the site in 2014.

Director of property for Sport England, Charles Johnston, said: “We are delighted to provide £500,000 of National Lottery funding to help the National Trust develop this fantastic centre. Offering new customer-friendly facilities, as well as better spaces for storing and accessing boats, Fell Foot can now attract even more people to watersports all year round.”

The National Trust at Fell Foot has been working with partners, consulting with the community and speaking with visitors to develop a plan that promises a bright future for the park. Longer-term, funding applications are in for a new cafe and eating options; improved visitor access; opening up and enhancing historic boathouses; telling the story of the park; pointing people towards opportunities to discover nature; re-introducing on-site accommodation through the use of camping pods; and providing more opportunities for play throughout the park.

It is hoped, subject to funding, that the project will be a six-year, six-phase process, with continued access to the park a priority throughout.

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