A dismayed businessman has been forced to close his car park after the refusal of his application to grant him permanent permission to operate it.

Phil Johnston lodged an appeal at the end of 2021 after the Lake District National Park Authority refused his plan to turn Lands Field in Yewdale Road, Coniston, into a seasonal car park.

Signs have now gone up on the gate to the car park saying: 'Closed'.

The plan would have seen the field be used as a seasonal 200-space car park, to be used between March 1 and November 5 each year, so that Coniston could accommodate the influx of visitors during the warmer months.

He said the car park was granted permission to open for an initial 56 days as an emergency measure by the national park to accommodate the huge numbers of people that would come when Covid restrictions were lifted.

"We lost the appeal on the basis that the car park in that location harms the landscape of the world heritage site, but there really is no viable alternative," he said.

"The Lake District attracts 20 million visitors a year, and we have accommodated just over 10,000 cars from start of July until now, so it shows that the demand for the car park is there.

"We’ve had around 3,000 people supporting the car park and around 30 against it.

"We have planted thousands of trees on the land so the visibility isn’t really an issue – all of the other proposed sites would have a much greater effect on the landscape than ours."

He said the consequences of the lack of parking facilities in Coniston could be huge.

"The main Ruskin car park can hold 55 cars, and there are others, but not available all of the time as they often host events, and they are always full on busy days," he said.

"I really feel for the local businesses around Yewdale Road that are going to miss out on the daily footfall that they need.

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"There is also no residents parking scheme in Coniston so I anticipate residents struggling to park.

"Public transport facilities in the Lake District are lamentable, so people do need to use cars, and these are families with equipment and luggage to enjoy several activities, not businessmen travelling to work with a briefcase.

"National Parks policy also encourages a payment system to encourage people to stay longer. We charged £6 for all day so you could wander around the fells, go to a cafe and not worry about what time it is."

Following the appeal, the LDNPA said in a statement: "The proposals would bring about a harmful change to the settlement character and wider landscape both in terms of visual impact and activity at the site. This impact would vary in its magnitude depending on where it is experienced from but the change to the character of the settlement and landscape would be most evident close to the site on Yewdale Road, Coniston Coppermine’s Road and from open access land at Mouldry Bank.

"The proposals would cause harm to view into and out of Coniston which are important to the character and appearance of the settlement and its setting in the landscape."