A dedicated parking area for visitors to an ancient stone circle in Eden has been given the green light.
Planning permission has been granted to the North Pennines AONB Partnership to create a car park for the scheduled monument of Long Meg and Her Daughters on a strip of agricultural land, about 500 metres to the south of the scheduled ancient monument.
Fiona Knox, who works with the North Pennines area partnership, said Long Meg was on the “at risk register” due to vehicle damage which has caused scars at the site.
“This scarring is getting worse over time. In the two to three years I have been working on this project, we have actually had additional scarring lay-bys created along that farm road which runs through the site,” she said.
The North Pennines partnership has secured funding for the car park through the Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership Scheme, a meeting of Eden Council’s planning committee was told
“This an opportunity, through this direct funding, to reverse the damage to the site, secure new off site parking, and take the monument off the at risk register,” said Ms Knox.
