A TOWN council has labelled plans to convert a guest house into a drinking establishment in Bowness a ‘bar too far’.

Windermere and Bowness Town Council has recommended Lake District planners refuse a planning application from Bowness Bay Investments Ltd to convert part of the grade II listed Laurel Cottage guest house on St Martins Square into a bar.

According to plans, the guest house currently consists of a bar/lounge area on the ground floor with four-ensuite rooms and two guest rooms with a shared bathroom on the first floor.

It is proposed the ground floor of the listed building will be converted into a bar and seating area, with the first floor containing additional seating space and toilets.

In response to the plans the town council state: “Changing Laurel Cottage into a public house in the heart of Bowness, surrounded by numerous other drinking establishments, would be a bar too far.

“Windermere and Bowness Town Council is not alone in its opinion that there are already too many bars in Bowness, undoubtedly resulting in frequent anti-social behaviour.”

However, the town council add the proposed restoration of the historic building is a ‘sympathetic and well thought-out’ design.

According to a heritage statement submitted with the plans, the building dates back to the 17th or 18th century and was once a school.

The statement added the building was currently ‘not in use’ and is in need of investment to secure its ‘future preservation’.

Planning documents say: “The proposed establishment will be located within a vibrant and thriving part of Bowness centre/tourist area and will complement existing local businesses including shops, hotels/guest houses, café/restaurants, bars and pubs in the immediate locality.

“The offering proposed will be different to other existing bars in the locality with a more ‘traditional’ feel serving local and craft beers.”

The applicant also proposes undertaking external maintenance and refurbishment of the building which includes repairing the ridge roof tiles.

The heritage statement concludes: “Taken as a whole, the proposal is an opportunity to provide more public access to the listed building, and to interpret its history to a wider audience. The proposal will enhance the character and appearance of Bowness Conservation Area.”

In response to the plans, Cumbria Constabulary told Lake District National Park planners: “In the last 5-10 years this small town has seen significant fast growth in the number of licensed premises in the form of bars and other licensed premises.

“Not by coincidence there has been a significant increase in the amount of anti-social behaviour reports and violent crime. In 2021 the small number of Police Officers at Windermere Police Station dealt with 268 violent crime and public order offences.

“By 2023 this had grown to 334 and analysis of data has demonstrated that a high proportion of these violent assaults and public order offences have occurred within the licensed premises of Bowness or related to persons who had been patrons immediately before.

“This is placing huge strain on limited local policing resources who are dealing with an ever-increasing demand.”

The police response said there was ‘no reference to safety and security features, the presence and citing of CCTV, external lighting etc’ in the application.

It urged the applicant to contact the police to ‘meet and understand the wider context in the area and our expectations in terms of the high standard of premises management’.

It adds: “I do not wish to provide a disproportionate response to this application, but it is difficult to consider the full impact this bar will have without knowing its capacity inside and out and other public safety considerations.”