The Friends of the Lake District bid for Stickle Tarn

A conservation charity has revealed it was one of the unsuccessful bidders for Stickle Tarn, which was put up for sale by Lake District bosses.

But the Friends of the Lake District said it would be involved in negotiations with the park authority to come to a deal on the beauty spot.

The Kendal-based Lake District National Park Authority announced this week it had not found a buyer for Stickle Tarn who met its requirements.

The Friends, which represents the Campaign to Protect Rural England in the area, revealed it was one of the organisations that had expressed an interest in buying the tarn and surrounding land.

But the group was critical of the way the national park authority went about the sale of the tarn and seven other pieces of land, accusing it of a lack of transparency. It also said conditions attached to the sales of the land could put its sympathetic future management under threat.

The Friends said: “The Lake District National Park Authority has now clarified that Friends of the Lake District is one of a number of ‘interested groups’ with whom they will be ‘exploring alternative responsible ownership for Stickle Tarn in the coming weeks’.

“We welcome the prospect of discussion with the national park authority, the local community and other interested groups to discuss the future of this iconic tarn for future generations.

“We are very pleased at the prospect of these discussions and look forward to playing a key role in ensuring that Stickle Tarn remains protected. However, being a responsible charity we will seek expert advice as to our potential liabilities before making any final commitment.”

The authority announced on Monday a charitable body had made an offer for Blea Brows near Coniston, which it believed met both its requirements and addressed concerns expressed by various interested parties.

“We believe this body will be a suitable future owner for Blea Brows, but at this stage we have not made a final decision and plan to discuss the potential sale further with the local community before doing so.

“We anticipate these discussions will progress during the next few weeks.”

Longbridge, Portinscale and Lady Wood, White Moss, have been sold to private buyers.

No tenders were received for Blue Hill and Red Bank, Yewbarrow Woods, Waterside Knott and Baneriggs Wood.

An authority spokesperson said: “It is still our intention to sell these properties and we remain confident we will be able to secure future responsible owners for them.

“We are currently reviewing the feedback we have received and are in discussions with our agents on how best to achieve this while maintaining all our commitments to the future care of these sites.”