Holiday village could be created on edge of tourism hub town

The venture, at Pickering Showground, will see 133 holiday lodges built, together with a restaurant, manager’s lodge, site shops, a lake, a park-and-ride facility and also 15 “glamping” pods for campers at the prime site on the A169 between Malton and Pickering.

Julian Rudd, head of economy at Ryedale District Council, where the planning committee is being recommended by council officers to approve the scheme, said: “It will be an enormous economic benefit to Pickering and Ryedale as a whole, with £25m of investment on the site and a further £8m a year being injected into the local economy by users of the complex.

“Pickering is a major tourism hub and is strategically placed for tourism and outdoor recreation, being close to the North York Moors National Park and vast areas of spectacular countryside in Ryedale.”

Pickering Exhibition and Leisure Village is behind the venture. Its head Jason Bruton, of Ryedale Showground Ltd, said yesterday: “I have known the site for a number of years. It has been under-utilised because the infrastructure has potential to benefit the local economy enormously.”

In a report to councillors who will meet on Tuesday, council planning officer Rachel Smith said: “There is strong support at a national level for the principle of this type of development. At a local level, Pickering is a centre for tourism and gateway to tourism and recreation opportunities.”

She added that an archaeological report on the site showed there was “high potential” for remains from the Iron Age to Roman Britain on the site and talks are underway to decide whether more work is needed.

She said the lodges would be built from wood with some of them fronting a newly-created lake. Significant tree and shrub planting would also be carried out.

“It is not considered that the siting of the lodges will have a significant adverse impact on the open countryside,” she added.

The scheme includes a park-and-ride scheme to take people to Pickering two miles away.