Plan to build holiday lodge park opposite large housing estate in Yorkshire

A meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Thirsk and Malton constituency committee was told a couple’s application to change of use of a paddock off Oulston Road, Easingwold, to site five holiday lodges, lacked details which would reveal whether residents of the area would be protected.

Councillors agreed to postpone making a decision over the proposal to enable the applicants to provide specifications rather than “a brochure of some random lodges” and to state what the long-term intentions for the site were.

An agent for the developer told the meeting that coupled with the Hambleton Local Plan’s restrictive approach to housing developments on the edge of market towns, the proposal for holiday lodges for the site “made an awful lot of sense”.

He said the applicants had received confirmation from the Freedom Camping and Caravan Club that they would grant a certificate licence for five touring caravans on the site, which remained “a fallback position” for them, but they would prefer to launch a more aesthetically pleasing holiday lodge development.

Ahead of the meeting, environmental health officers had said the applicants had provided no detail about the potential impact on amenity and the likelihood of the development to cause nuisance.

In addition, Easingwold Town Council had objected to the proposal, saying it would have a “detrimental impact on the countryside and local residents, community and causes road safety concerns”.

Speaking on behalf of “28 very worried residents who feel disregarded”, an objector told the meeting while the promotion of tourism was part of the Hambleton Local Plan, it was not an over-riding objective.

He said: “The economic is still to be balanced with the social and environmental factors.”

The meeting heard claims the economic case for the development amounted to there being a likelihood the visitors to the site would use local services.

The resident added: “It’s a business fundamentally changing the character of the locality…”

Councillors said the proposal before them lacked several important details, such as the protection for nearby trees, management plans for the holiday site, and the style of the lodges, to enable them to make a considered decision.

Easingwold councillor Nigel Knapton said the site was a gateway to the market town and while holiday lodges were not normally found in residential areas, the proposed site was clearly close to homes, being opposite the large Claypenny estate.

He added: “It would be very strange to see wooden lodges in that context.”

Coun Knapton said there would be quite a few more suitable locations around Easingwold for such a development.