PLANNING approval has been given to turn a former garden centre into 12 homes near Keswick. 

The permission will see the demolition of the closed Keswick Garden Centre, Underskiddaw, known as the Little Dodd garden centre, making way for the building of 11 new dwellings and conversion of a holiday let, giving 12 buildings in total - alongside car parking facilities. 

Plans have been given the go-ahead by the Lake District National Park Planning Authority on July 17, following the recent submission of an application by Atkinson Homes Ltd. 

The approval has come subject to certain conditions to ensure the development of the homes will help address the 'lack' of local housing available in the area. 

Six of the units must be occupied by a 'person with a local connection', such as someone who has worked in the area for longer than nine months. 

The other six units will be categorised as 'affordable' housing. 

The Section 73 application seeks to develop the build without complying with a condition previously imposed on approved planning permission.

Back in 2021, objections to original plans on the site came from residents, Underskiddaw parish council and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE-Cumbria Association).

At the time, the chairman of Underskiddaw parish council said he reiterated the views of the council that the build seems an excessive development in a rural location whilst also highlighting safety concerns due to the 60 mph road. 

The amended application received no representations. 

In a similar fashion to address the lack of local housing, a former mountain bike shop and appliance showroom in Keswick has been transformed by Cumberland Council into four modern apartments.

The council enlisted the help of volunteers from Keswick Community Housing Trust to fill the homes, a non-profit organisation established in 2010 to address the shortage of properties and high prices in the Lake District National Park.

All four properties have already been rented out.