THE National Trust and the Wordsworth Trust have added their voices to calls for the Lowther Estate Trust to drop its idea of mooring holiday boats on Grasmere.

So far, 245 letters of representation had been sent to the Lake District National Park Authority about the proposal.

The online petition, started by Facebook campaign group Houseboats Off Grasmere has been signed by 3,570 people so far, and a crowdfunding appeal has raised £1,515.

In a statement, the National Trust said it opposed the proposal to moor up to ten 'gentleman’s yachts' on the lake. It believed this would “cause harm to the outstanding universal value of the World Heritage Site”.

The trust, which looks after Grasmere Island and parts of the lake shore, said: “We believe Grasmere should be protected as open access space for everyone, forever. It is currently used for recreation, from families enjoying a picnic and a play at the water’s edge, to swimmers, recreational rowing boats from a local business and fishing from rowing boats.

“It is a place where generations of local residents and visitors have enjoyed free and open access to the water.

“We believe the size and nature of these boats and the use proposed is materially different from the current situation. Permanent moorings and overnight stays would change the character of lake use, and impact on the overall character of the lake.”

Meanwhile, the Wordsworth Trust has told the LDNPA that the proposals appear “to conflict with all that William and Dorothy Wordsworth valued and loved about this beautiful, tranquil and undeveloped landscape”.