A BARN near Ulverston could be transformed into an elite centre for training orienteering champions if proposals from the British Orienteering Federation (BOF) receive planners' blessing.

The Derbyshire-based orienteering governing body - BOF - has submitted a planning application to the Lake District National Park Authority to convert a barn at Collin Pit Farm, Oxen Park, into a residential training centre for use by up to 11 athletes at a time.

A supporting letter to the application states that BOF believes there is a need for such a centre if British orienteers are to compete with consistent champions from Scandinavia where athletes enjoy a network of forest training bases.

"England produced one world champion in 1999 - we are very keen to win more," the statement read.

"Previous winners need an orienteering base where we can train people."

It touts Oxen Park as a perfect spot for such a facility: "Within 20 miles there are numerous areas of top quality required for international competition.

In that way Oxen Park is unique in England as being the centre of elite orienteering maps and terrain."

A small group of orienteers - including Carol McNeill of Oxen Park and Berkshire-based Chris Brasher of Brasher Boot Company fame - has developed the proposal using money that has laid dormant in BOF accounts.

Alec Ross, BOF's executive officer, explained that the Oxen Park bid was a way to use around £20,000 of money generated by a profit left from when England hosted the Orienteering World Championships in 1976.

Members at the time had agreed that the money would only be used to support British orienteering centres but nobody had come forward with a viable plan.

"There were attempts in the late 1970s and early 80s to get a similar thing going in the Lake District - they attempted a joint arrangement when they were re-doing Ambleside Youth Hostel - but that never came to anything.

So as people died and lost interest the money just sort of sat there," said Mr Ross.

A group keen to see Oxen Park become an inaugural training centre has been given some of the cash to put in the planning bid.

BOF members who are involved directly in the planning application were unavailable for comment.