Honister Slate Mine's controversial proposal for the construction of a 1200m zip wire on Fleetwith Fell was rejected by members of the Lake District National Park Authority's planning committee today.

Landscape charity Friends of the Lake District spoke for many conservation and outdoor pursuits organizations, who were united in opposition to the scheme. The proposed site is on one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the National Park, an area containing wildlife habitats so valuable it has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation - a European level of landscape protection.

Friends of the Lake District Planning officer Richard Pearse said: ‘We're very pleased with the decision, it's a victory for the environment, it's victory for national parks and what the they stand for - free access to an outstanding natural landscape. The economic argument for this development was not overwhelming, and it should not outweigh the fundamental damage it would have caused to one of the most outstanding areas of the country.

‘Adventurous outdoor pursuits are available all over the Lake District - in the form of rock climbing and mountain biking for example, and are enjoyed by large numbers of young (and not so young) people, in harmony with the environment. The scale of this proposal in this location was inappropriate however.

‘The decision reflects the strength of feeling and quality of arguments put forward by a wide group of organisations and individuals, who, like us, all believe that the open fell tops, free from man made developments, should be protected for everyone's benefit.'

National and local environmental and amenity groups including the British Mountaineering Council, Campaign for National Parks, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, the Fell and Rock Climbing Club of the Lake District, the Open Spaces Society and the Ramblers Association all objected to the proposal. Natural England, the Government's statutory advisor on wildlife and landscape, also objected to the proposal.

Natural England recently prosecuted Honister Slate Mine under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for unauthorised recreational activities likely to damage Honister Crag Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Slate Mine was fined £15,000 for the damage caused, and ordered to pay £13,190 costs. Natural England had concerns that the zip wire proposal would generate further damage to the SSSI.