Posted by Geraint_Lewis on September 10, 2013 at 01:22:52 user Geraint_Lewis.
In Reply to: Re: Boathouse for sale posted by Peter Roche on September 09, 2013 at 22:42:31:
Some random observations that may help (at least I hope they don't hinder):
North West Water is now part of United Utilities. They own Thirlmere and Haweswater reservoirs, using the water to supply Manchester etc. I have no idea whether they have rights or responsibilities over other catchment areas such as Coniston Water.
You can get quite a lot of information about the Rawdon-Smith Trust online via the Charity Commission register. The Trust's declared activity is as follows:
TO PRESERVE THE TRUST'S PROPERTY IN PERPETUITY UNDER LOCAL CONTROL FOR THE PURPOSE OF AFFORDING TO THE PUBLIC FACILITIES FOR RECREATION. THE INCOME FROM THESE FACILITIES TO BE USED TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO CHARITIES AND VOLUNTARY BODIES IN THE FIVE PARISHES WITH IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO CONISTON WATER; TO HELP MAINTAIN THE LAKE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS AS A PLACE FOR QUIET ENJOYMENT.
To clarify Peter R's earlier comment, it appears that 192.com may be out of date, as the Charity Commission has the R-ST's principal address at Brantwood.
According to their accounts, the Trust's grants its surplus income to charitable activities in the five parishes bordering the lake.
The online information doesn't say how the Trust came into being, nor how it came to own the bed of Coniston Water (which it clearly does, so far as the law is concerned, whatever our personal views on the concept of ownership). We'd need to see the Trust Deed to find this out. In its absence, and if I may conjecture for a moment, I can imagine two possible routes:
1) The lake bed belonged historically to a private person who decided to put it in trust for the charitable purposes defined above. Maybe that person was a Rawdon-Smith, or perhaps the owner wanted to commemorate the Rawdon-Smiths for some reason.
2) The lake bed was split historically as common land belonging to the five parishes. I imagine it is possible they decided to combine that land and put it in trust to their mutual benefit.
Finally, just to clarify re the boathouse: Lanehead does not own any lake frontage, as all of the land (and the flanking boathouses, including the stone jetty), belongs to Bank Ground Farm. The wooden jetty belongs to Lanehead built, of course, on the lake bed belonging to the R-ST. But this does not appear to be included in the boathouse sale. Access for the new owner will, therefore, be by foot over a defined route crossing Lanehead and Bank Ground land. This will not confer any launching rights. Nor is it clear where you'd park your car, as the nearest car park is at the head of the lake. Its usefulness is therefore dependent on the new owner being able to access it from the lake. That could be inconvenient from a leisure point of view, and potentially expensive when it comes to maintaining the building.