Even on a weekday afternoon, at the very tail end of the summer, Bowness-on-Windermere is bustling with life; outside the town’s pubs and bars, drinkers are sipping crisp pints of lager and glasses of sparkling wine, in the warm September sun.
This Cumbrian town has been a tourist destination since the 19th century but in recent years it has become even more popular.
According to Visit Britain, the Lake Windermere cruises that leave from Bowness were the eighth most popular paid tourist attraction in England last year, and in 2022 attracted more visitors than Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and St Paul’s Cathedral.
But the resort’s continuing popularity is causing tensions with residents, many of them older people, who say they are struggling with the increasing number of visitors, more noise at night, and more crime on their streets, as well as a loss of local amenities, such as grocery shops.
Now, Cumbria police have voiced concerns about the growth in the town’s night-time economy, objecting to plans to turn Laurel Cottage guesthouse, in the heart of Bowness, into a bar.
“In the last five to 10 years this small town has seen significant fast growth in the number of licensed premises in the form of bars and other licensed premises,” a representative for Cumbria constabulary said in a statement.
“Not by coincidence there has been a significant increase in the amount of antisocial behaviour reports and violent crime.”
According to the force, in 2021 Windermere police station dealt with 268 violent crime and public order offences; by 2023, this number had risen to 334.
Cumbria constabulary said that “a high proportion of these violent assaults and public order offences have occurred within the licensed premises of Bowness”.
The concerns from police are echoed by many local residents. Some said the town had become more popular with hen and stag parties, whereas in the past it was a destination favoured more by hillwalkers, and pensioners on coach trips.
“This year’s been horrendous, we just couldn’t cope,” Sarah Redmayne, 50, said. “There were just too many people, it was horrible.”
She has noticed an increase in crime in Bowness– in particular, fights. Now, some of the bars had security on the doors at the weekends. “We’re not in Manchester or London, are we?” she said. “We’re just meant to be this little old village.”
“We’ve got enough bars,” Jane Skellam, 74, said. “I can hear the noise from the back of my house until three in the morning, especially on a Saturday. I don’t want a bar [at Laurel Cottage].”
However, not everyone is opposed to the plans to transform the building. The Lake District relies on its tourist economy, and some think these new openings should be encouraged.
“I was through here with the missus and the little one, Saturday before [last], we had a fantastic time,” Jack, 32, a gardener who lives in nearby Kendal, said. “We went into the pubs, we had a meal, and we were here till about eight, nine o’clock. We got the last train home, the train station was packed, but I couldn’t see any antisocial behaviour whatsoever.”
“There’s no problem whatsoever,” he added. “I think it’s great. I think we need more or stuff like that to bring people to the Lakes. People come to the Lakes to enjoy themselves, to relax, to enjoy the views … and then also enjoy the pubs, and meals.”
Seby Mandea, 35, is originally from Romania, but has lived in nearby Windermere for seven years, and runs a business, Andreea’s Sweets, in Bowness.
On local social media pages, he said, he sees residents objecting whenever new bars and restaurants open. He said there are now a lot of hospitality businesses in the town. But, he added, he has never noticed any trouble.
“The Lakes I think are the least dangerous place,” he said. “It’s quiet, it’s nice. On a sunny day, everything is shining, gleaming.”
“It’s more safe,” he added. “I used to live in Preston, and it wasn’t like this. The Lakes are something special.”
Stephen Wilson, from Bowness Bay Investments Ltd, the company behind the plans to transform Laurel Cottage, said their aim was for it to become “a nice, low-key, traditional pub”.
The cottage, he said, was already licensed, so “we’re not adding any more licensed premises to the area”, adding that all of the company’s existing bars were properly controlled, with CCTV, and an effective pub watch scheme in place.
The issue was that police in Cumbria were stretched, and “there never are any police here” when incidents do happen.
“Bowness has always, since Victorian times, been a tourist destination,” Wilson said. “We’ve got the boats on the lake, fantastic views. The good thing about Bowness is that it’s a very central place.
“You stay here, you’ve got all types of restaurants, different bars, coffee shops, and then you have 10 minutes drive to wherever else you want to go walking. It’s a great base for Cumbria.”
“We have received a planning application for the change of use of part of Laurel Cottage guesthouse into a bar/drinking establishment with associated refurbishment works,” a spokesperson for the Lake District National Park Authority said.
“Cumbria constabulary have commented expressing serious concerns about the policing impacts of further licensed premises within the area. The planning system operates separately of the licensing regime. We will take Cumbria constabulary’s comments into account in our assessment of the current planning application.”