PROTESTS are being held against an extensive holiday resort earmarked for the Furness area.

The proposed £100m development at Roanhead Farm, close to Askam, has been the subject of strong opposition – with a petition against it having generated more than 3,000 signatures and the National Trust and conservation charity Friends of the Lake District expressing concerns.

Committee members from a group called Save Roanhead from Developers staged their first in-person protest on Monday, with around 10 people gathering at the National Trust car park at Roanhead before moving to the roadside to target people on their way home from work.

Kelly Holland, who set up the petition and the Save Roanhead group, said the holiday resort, which would feature around 450 lodges, would 'destroy the fragile habitat' of the area. 

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Mrs Holland said the roads would be a 'nightmare' and that the general tranquillty of the area would be shattered.

"I personally feel so deeply because I am a local, having lived in Barrow and been a frequent visitor to Roanhead my whole life," she said.

"I don't want to see another natural beauty lost."

She described the mitigation measures being put forward for the development as 'insufficient' and said the habitat of Natterjack Toads, which live in the area, 'cannot be mimicked'.

Rebecca Mcilgorm, another committee member, expressed doubts about the claim, made by Andrew Coutts, managing director of developer ILM Group, that the resort would encourage people to visit 'Barrow and the wider Furness Peninsula'.

Mrs Mcilgorm said visitors would either stay on site or travel to Ulverston or the Lake District.

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"It's not going to improve the town of Barrow in any way," she said.

Mrs Holland said smaller protests – involving groups of three or four – were to take place this week and that a larger, public protest would be arranged in future.

Environmental consultancy firm Enzygo has said in a report that 'opportunities for ecological enhancements' on top of mitigation and compensation measures would be identified as part of the Roanhead scheme and 'used to promote net gains in biodiversity across the development'.

A formal planning application for the holiday park has not yet been submitted.