Agenda item

Change of use of agricultural land to touring caravan site for up to 40 touring caravans, conversion of existing stables to maintenance/storage sheds associated with caravan site use, erection of buildings comprising site amenities building, reception/warden accommodation building and electricity sub-station, refuse/gas storage/collection areas, hard surfaced areas for access, parking, storage & site servicing purposes and landscaping

Land At North Of Bewick Drift, Cresswell, Northumberland

Change of use of agricultural land to touring caravan site for up to 40 touring caravans, conversion of existing stables to maintenance/storage sheds associated with caravan site use, erection of buildings comprising site amenities building, reception/warden accommodation building and electricity sub-station, refuse/gas storage/collection areas, hard surfaced areas for access, parking, storage & site servicing purposes and landscaping

Land At North Of Bewick Drift, Cresswell, Northumberland

An introduction to the application was provided by J Murphy, Area Development Manager with the aid of a power point presentation.   She advised that the application had been withdrawn from the June Committee in order to allow the applicant to provide additional information which had now been received.

T Carter, agent on behalf of the applicant addressed the Committee speaking in support of the application.  His comments included the following:-

·       Planning officers were thanked for a professional, thorough and balanced appraisal of the application.

·       The tourism enterprise has been made by a local business, who had contributed in the past and continued to contribute to the local area. This was a fantastic opportunity to put Lynemouth on the map through this welcomed tourism facility. The level of support the application has received confirmed this.

·       Significant weight had been given to the economic benefits of the proposed development, which would result in economic effects absorbed at the local and district wide levels resulting from both direct and indirect job creation and associated economic benefits.

·       It was expected that the proposal would create 4 jobs with a view to increasing employment opportunities as the site developed. Further to this, tourists would support nearby settlements of Lynemouth, Cresswell, Ellington and beyond.

·       This touring caravan site would yield an average annual expenditure of over half a million pounds. This would be distributed across those directly involved with the site and those living in the local and wider area, supporting existing business in Lynemouth and Cresswell such as the retailers, takeaways and other local businesses etc.

·       The Parish Council objected to the scheme in July last year. Since then, the applicant had worked with officers to address concerns, which centred on two main issues of highway safety and ecology, both of which had now been addressed. Ecologists and highways officers had accepted the proposals and had not raised objections. Further, the applicant would make a contribution of nearly £14000 towards the Coastal Mitigation Scheme.

·       In terms of residential amenity, the site was not close to housing to impact amenity and there was no evidence to suggest that holiday use would increase the rise of crime with no objections raised from Northumbria Police on this matter.

·       Although it was not anticipated that noise would be an issue, given the proposals were for a touring caravan site alone, and did not propose a clubhouse as such, the applicant had agreed to provide a noise management plan as requested by Environmental Health.

·       It was acknowledged that there would be a slight increase in traffic to the site but as highways officers had recently confirmed, any potential inconvenience would not result in significant impact to the amenity for those using the highway network for a site of this nature and scale.

·       A significant number of members of the public supported these proposals, stating amongst other benefits that they too find it encouraging that a business was willing to invest in the local economy and bring employment opportunities when so many tourism businesses had closed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

·       By bringing an unused parcel of land of low landscape value into use, which would see the provision of hedge and tree planting on the boundaries of the site, replacement of the industrial looking palisade fencing, planting of suitable tree species and shrubs in the grassed areas throughout the development, and the introduction of grassed mounds in this location, would be of a visual and ecological benefit to the area.

·       Creswell and this part of the North East coast, had for some time been a tourist destination, people from all over the country visited the village and surrounding area, but had limited opportunities to stay there and spend their money at nearby businesses and facilities.

·       The applicant had actively sought to address objections, and the proposals were totally policy compliant in both local and national terms.  Whilst some objectors had identified potential issues regarding noise, and highway safety,  planning officers, along with specialists had considered the proposals would not bring about any harm and he asked that Members agree the recommendation to approve the application.

In response to questions from Members of the Committee the following information was noted:-

·       It was thought that the reception/warden services on the site would be provided by a shift pattern working and would not require specific accommodation to be provided.

·       Highways had looked very closely at the proposals in relation to highway safety and it was considered the 3 sets of signage regarding the restrictions on the bridge into Lynemouth to deter usage would be sufficient.

Councillor Wearmouth proposed acceptance of the recommendation to approve the application as outlined in the report which was seconded by Councillor Darwin. 

In welcoming the application and the benefits that the proposals would bring to the area by expanding tourism areas down the coast, Members did highlight that the ability to regenerate the area would also depend on having the infrastructure in place to support this and improvements to the bridge in particular should be a goal.

A vote was taken on the proposal to approve the application and it was unanimously:

RESOLVED that the application be GRANTED for the reasons and subject to the conditions as outlined in the report and a Unilateral Undertaking to secure a contribution to the Coastal Mitigation Scheme.