Yorkshire Dales field studies centre which welcomed generations of students to Malham Tarn 'to close this autumn'

Field Studies Council (FSC) Malham Tarn is based at Tarn House, a Georgian fishing lodge on the shores of Britain’s highest limestone lake in the Yorkshire Dales.

It has hosted generations of geography and biology students since opening in 1947 and gets visits from walkers from Leeds and Bradford on the Pennine Way. The FSC, which has 17 centres around the country, provides “quality outdoor learning opportunities for all ages and interests”.

Staff say they were told in a Zoom call that the FSC is relinquishing its 75-year-old lease to the National Trust, which owns the surrounding Malham Tarn estate, including a national nature reserve.

Administrator Richard Depledge, who has fond memories of visiting the FSC as a schoolboy, started working there in June.

He said its once large workforce had shrunk and the place had been “under resourced for some considerable time”.

He said: “Every single booking has been removed from Malham Tarn from the end of September and they are not taking any bookings from 2023.

“They say they are under consultation and although the decision has been ratified by the board of trustees, no final decision has been made until they complete the consultation period with staff and the National Trust, which legally they have to do.

“There isn’t any other centre within the FSC family that can offer the upland hydrology and ecology experience that we offer at Malham Tarn.

“The rest of the centres need to look long and hard at what they are doing - if they can do it to us they can do it to any of them.”

He claimed they’d failed to maintain the buildings which were in poor repair and said the NT had their own agenda, taking back cottages once used for staff accommodation and which were now being used for holiday lets.

They’d installed a borehole to service them, but not connected Tarn House.

A National Trust spokesperson said: “There has always been a close working relationship between the two organisations, with the tenancy agreement in place since 1947.

“We’re unable to give specific details of the tenancy agreement held between the National Trust and FSC however a number of supporting actions were agreed between the two organisations as part of a robust and joined up package of support, to help sustain the FSC’s business post pandemic and ensuing lockdowns.

“We understand that sadly, the FSC are currently consulting on a proposal to end their lease of Tarn House at Malham Tarn, and that this is a very difficult time for their staff affected by this action.”

The FSC said a final decision would be made at the end of consultation. A statement said the “considerable costs of repairing older buildings, access and water supply issues are all contributing factors, that despite every effort, make it very hard to maintain our activities at Malham Tarn and break even”.