CONSERVATION groups have joined forces to object to a Lake District National Park planning application for fencing near Skiddaw.

The application for the five-mile fence is to separate the two commons of Caldbeck and Uldale. Caldbeck commoners want to reintroduce hefts but neighbouring Uldale do not so the sheep must be separated by a fence. Director of Friends of the Lake District Ian Broadie spoke on behalf of the conservation group and the Open Spaces Society to have the application rejected at a three-day public inquiry at Caldbeck Village Hall.

General secretary of the Open Spaces Society Kate Ashbrook described the fencing plan as "an eyesore in this truly wild, open area." A decision on the contentious plan is expected to made by a government-appointed planning inspector at the end of March.

February 13, 2003 10:30