A small patch of overgrown land located minutes from the idyllic tourist hotspot of Lake Windermere is set to be auctioned for just £95k.
Despite appearing initially underwhelming, the plot has been described by estate agents Hackney & Leigh as a ‘rare find’ set in an ‘excellent position’.
Advertised as a unique plot due to its ‘fine views’ and only a 10 minute walk from the picturesque village of Bowness, Nicole Fallowfield, Assistant Branch Manager for Hackney & Leigh Windermere, said that a £95k asking price is actually a bargain for land typically sold in the local area.
She added: ‘These sorts of patches of land are not common to be honest, we haven’t seen one like this for quite a few years now.
‘We’ve seen other plots that can market for up to £300,000. Its going for a lot lower than usual so people will definitely be more interested.
‘The owner likely just wants to get rid of it.’
Only a two-minute drive from Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake, the tourist hotspot is one of the country’s most popular natural attractions, with up to 300,000 daily visitors during the peak summer months.
The plot on ‘quiet and peaceful’ Beechwood Close also has the benefit of pre-approved planning permission for a detached three-storey, three-bedroom house, with there even space for a study in the roof area.
The land will be bidded to prospective buyers at the next Auction House Cumbria event at 12pm on February 13 from £95,000.
Affordable homes within the Lake District are becoming increasingly challenging to buy, with the area well-known for its high numbers of second homes and property lets due to the attractive wildlife, beautiful scenery and idyllic water.
The average price of a property in Windermere was set at £495,8000 in 2024, an increase of six per cent in just one year alone.
Ms Fallowfield also estimates that between 65 and 75 per cent of homes in the area are marketed as holiday lets or kept purely as second homes.
A local charity report by Friends of the Lake District published in November last year recommended a tourist tax enforceable on hotel stays, parking or even driving to help manage the ‘hallowing out’ of the community, with the money then re-invested by local authorities and the Lake District National Park Authority.
The pressures faced by local residents wanting to buy have even become so challenging that the National Park has been forced to restrict who is able to purchase homes.
Now, often only those who have a ‘local connection’ to the area are entitled to buy certain properties or land plots, subject to particular exemptions.
This particular land plot falls under such restriction, with the listing stating that the land must only be occupied by ‘a person with a local connection as his or her only principal home, or the widow or widower of such a person, and any dependents of such a person living with him or her.’
Ms Fallowfield, who is local to the Lakes, says she fully supports the restriction as a tool for helping local people wanting to get on the property ladder, adding: ‘It is getting harder and harder for people to purchase homes now. These clauses are becoming quite common in this area because we need them for locals.’
However, plots of land like this, she warns, may still not be everyone’s dream home.
She added: ‘These plots don’t tend to be very competitive because not everybody wants to put in the work and do an entire renovation.
‘This land would be a great find though. You’re a three minute walk into Bowness Village and you’re also only a 10 minute walk from Windermere village as well, so you’re right in the thick of it. It’s a gorgeous area.’