THE owner of a Lake District business is closing his establishment after 18 months of serving the community.

The Rookery Lakes in Windermere opened in February offering visitors a vegetarian café, a hair salon and a social hub.

Despite the success of the business, the owner Shane Evans explained the closure is due to opportunities in his personal life that have come up.

"The business has been busy, accepted well by the locals and used well by the tourists - everything has been absolutely fine," he said.

"It is just a change of direction. I am 53 and I need to look at slowing down and not getting busier."

He explained there is no 'negativity' about the closure and that he and his team have all got something to move on to.

Shane said: "I am not sad about the closure. I love Windermere and the area but there are new opportunities to explore and new exciting times to have ahead of me. My team are great and they are all looked after."

The closure was announced on Facebook on Wednesday (May 29) and clients expressed their sadness in reacting to the news.

"A lot of people are sad because they like the place," said Shane. "The music nights have been very popular here.

"In the current financial climate and everything else that is going on at the moment people understand that as business owner we have to look at what works for us people, not just what we are creating in our businesses.

"Business owners are human beings and we need to take care of our own mental health and physical health as much as what we do for our customers."

Even though the business is going to close, there is good news for his hair clients as Shane will keep providing his hairdressing services in Ulverston. 

Their last day in business will be on Sunday, June 2 when they will be only serving drinks.