Planning Issues M-Sport Ltd Dovenby Cockermouth
Cumberland Council

Issues relating to flooding of properties in Dovenby Village, Cockermouth CA13 OPN from M-Sport Ltd property at Dovenby Hall Estate

Planning Application FUL/2025/0040

DescriptionProposed siting of 15 luxury lodges for short stay overnight accommodation for conferences, corporate events and hospitality events at Dovenby Hall Estate (change of use of land to provide overnight accommodation)

Link to FUL/2025/0040 Planning Application BE5: FUL/2025/0040

 
DateDescriptionDownload
22/7/2026Decision Notice – Approval_RedactedDownload (PDF, 117.33KB)
06/7/2026M Sport – finalDownload (PDF, 195.5KB)
11/3/2025RAB-3023_FRD Drainage StrategyDownload (PDF, 16.47MB)
04/6/2026Flood Risk AssessmentDownload (PDF, 2.36MB)
12/5/2026Application formDownload (PDF, 422.84KB)

See full application for other files Planning Application BE5: FUL/2025/0040

Nicholson Jan 17th notifies Cumberland Council to flooding from M-Sport but it was not passed to nor considered by Allerdale Planners

2026 01 17 We predicted that flooding would be caused by erroneous planning permission

Sent To: by online form at Report a flooded property | Cumberland Council

 This objection did not appear on the Council Planning website as an objection so was not considered by Councillors.

Link to my missing objection sent to the “Report a Flooded Property” on Cumberland Council website in January 2026 after my house was flooded.

My detailed explanation was not apparently communicated to other officers in relevant sections of Cumberland Council, nor was it published on Cumberland Council Planning website in relation to the application of M-Sport Ltd to build on the land that had caused the boundary wall to collapse by the flood water, and then the flood water behind the wall cascading into my house.

2026 01 17 We predicted that flooding would be caused by erroneous planning permission  (click to load pdf)

2026 01 22 My Online Form objection to MSport Lodges potential to cause flooding was omitted from Planning Application website Comments.

Sent by online form 22 Jan 2026 to Planning Application BE5: FUL/2025/0040

I object to this planning application which should be refused because Dovenby Hall Estate has been over developed through the previous planning decision of Allerdale Council that allowed grassed parkland to be covered with a race track and car factory without adequate drainage or storage mitigation of severe rainfall events.

Please deal with this letter as an objection to planning application FUL/2025/0040 and also as a formal complaint that Cumberland Council, through its predecessor Allerdale District Council, has given planning permission 2/2014/0350 that has resulted in the flooding of at least five properties in the severe rainfall event of November 2025, the properties that were flooded include our home at Lane Foot Cottage, Dovenby, Cockermouth CA13 0PN.

Click for link: 2026 01 22 Online objection to MSport Lodges  This was omitted from the Cumberland Council Allerdale Planning website.

 

Link to my missing objection sent in January 2026 after my house was flooded but not published on Cumberland Council Planning website for the M-Sport Ltd application  :   

2026 01 22 Online objection to MSport Lodges

(click to load pdf)

2026 07 12 Objection to Cumberland Council Planning Application FUL-2025-0040

2026 07 12 Objection to Cumberland Council Planning Application FUL-2025-0040 with photos that were omitted from the Council planning website 

 

Cumberland Allerdale online version of my objection 12 JULY 2026 after my house was flooded, published on Cumberland Council Planning website  WITHOUT PHOTOS OF THE EXTENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF FLOODING FROM M-SPORT LTD PROPERTY

Please note my house was flooded when storm flooding demolished M-Sport Dovenby boundary wall, even though Cumberland flood report and M-Sport Ltd application state there is no flood risk to the village from the land that flooded four properties in Dovenby !!!

 

Please put the attached Objection to Planning Application FUL-2025-0040 on the planning portal as an objection.

 

2026 07 12 Objection to Cumberland Council Planning Application FUL-2025-0040 From xx xx xx xx, xx, xx xx

 

I object to this application and request that permission be refused. The application appears to contain a material inaccuracy on a matter directly relevant to planning judgement: flood risk.

1. Flood risk has been incorrectly stated

The application form is dated 31/3/2025 and answers “No” to the question asking whether the site is within an area at risk of flooding. That answer is not credible in light of recent events. In November 2025, stormwater accumulated on the applicant’s land to such a level that it demolished the applicant’s approximately 10-foot-high boundary wall.

The resulting surge of water travelled along the road and entered four properties. One property’s ground-floor carpet was flooded and had to be replaced.

The same floodwater then demolished the boundary wall at Limetree House, and the height of the water is evidenced by deposits left on my beck bank garden. Photographic evidence is available.

The floodwater from the M-Sport Ltd Dovenby Hall Estate also entered Lane Foot Cottage, causing serious damage, including the need to replace the floor and associated works. The damage amounted to tens of thousands of pounds.

The residents of Dovenby Cottage were likewise affected by the floodwater from the M-Sport Ltd estate, and her family has had to live elsewhere since the flood incident in November last year.

The application also asks whether the proposed development would increase flood risk. In my view, this question cannot properly be answered without a full and transparent assessment of the November 2025 flooding event and the potential effect of additional development on surface-water run-off, drainage, flood routes and neighbouring properties. Until that assessment is provided, the application should not be treated as reliable or complete.

2. Request to refuse or require correction before determination

For the reasons above, the application should not proceed on the basis of the information currently provided. The flood-risk response appears inconsistent with the recent flooding history of the site. This is a material planning matter. I therefore request that the Council refuses planning permission, or at minimum requires the applicant to correct the application, provide a full flood-risk assessment, and re-consult affected neighbours before any decision is made.

Figure 1 M-Sport Ltd on left, Dovenby Beck & road

Figure 2 M-Sport Ltd on left, Dovenby Beck & road

Figure 4 Dovenby Beck hits Lane Foot garden wall and bends left leaving debris on wall

Figure 3 Dovenby Beck, Limetree House wall on right demolished, the beck bends left under road

Figure 5 Flood debris on wall shows height of flood

Figure 6 Flood buckles oak floor Lane Foot Cottage

Figure 7 Floor erupts in Lane Foot Cottage

Consequences of flood water accumulating on M-Sport property