Doncaster Council set to refuse plans to store over 600 caravans on green belt land

Next Tuesday (Nov 12) Doncaster Council’s planning committee will determine an application to build a storage site for up to 642 caravans in Braithwell.

If approved, the site will be built on agricultural land to the north of Ashton Lane.

Planning officers have recommended that the application is refused due to its location within Doncaster’s green belt.

Green belt development is not recommended except under special circumstances, or when the positives of a proposal would significantly outweigh harm to the environment.

The application was brought to committee by councillors Martin Greenhalgh and Nigel Cannings, who argued that it should be approved due to high demand for caravan storage.

Applicant Pawson Group, which operates another caravan storage facility nearby, has stated that there is a “pressing need” for caravan storage sites in the area.

The application proposes to create a designated wildlife area on part of the site to create an overall biodiversity net gain.

Planning officers stated however that any benefits would still fail to outweigh the negative impacts on the land, including disrupting the openness of the green belt and harm to visual amenity and the agricultural economy.

They added that most of the benefits of the proposal would be limited to the applicant, with no additional jobs to be created at the site.

Officers also stated that a more appropriate site could have been chosen, criticising the applicant’s search exercise which only studied sites within a three mile radius.