A HOTEL’S plans for a new spa housed in a modular structure have received a setback.

Langdale Chase, a grade-II listed Victorian country house, applied for a lawful development to the Lake District Park Authority (LNDPA) for a proposed spa and treatment facility.

It argued that the proposal did not represent 'operational development or constitute a material change of use of land' and therefore did not require planning permission.

The Westmorland Gazette: How the mobile structure would have been transported from YorkshireHow the mobile structure would have been transported from Yorkshire (Image: Lake District National Park Authority)

However the LNDPA did not issue a Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Use of Development.

It said that the proposed structure would not fall within the definition of a caravan as set out in the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 and would constitute a building under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Langdale Chase would have used a Yorkshire-based company called Bonnie Boltholes to create a modular structure for the spa. The application states: "They take a steel frame and build highly insulated walls and ceilings to create a super structure.

"Because of the style, design and use of the highest quality natural materials, our Boltholes will look like they have been in the landscape for a hundred years.

“The Boltholes are fully constructed off-site in Yorkshire and delivered to site on a low loader before being craned into position."

The Westmorland Gazette: Where the facility would have been sitedWhere the facility would have been sited (Image: Lake District National Park Authority)