Villagers object to plans to double size of Yorkshire holiday lodge park in speeding blackspot

Sheriff Hutton Parish Council and numerous villagers have called on North Yorkshire Council to reject John Wilson’s revised scheme to transform a pasture field for the grazing of horses to the north of the village which features the ruins of two castles to the north of York.

The calls follow Mr Wilson submitting a proposal for 32 holiday lodges on the site where approval for what planning officers described as “a relatively modest proposal” for 16 lodges was approved less than two years ago, establishing consent for the agricultural land to be used for tourism purposes.

In papers submitted to the authority, agents for the developer said the proposed increase in lodges would be mitigated with a reduction in the unit sizes, by relocating of the manager’s lodge and children’s play area away from the nearest homes, an acoustic fence and boundary screening.

The application states: “The previously approved lodges were considered to be excessively large for short-term holiday use and was more akin to the lodges you see on residential parks with levels of amenity space for everyday living.

“The lodges proposed here are modest in size and although an increase in units are proposed to address the fundamental issue of viability, the council isasked to consider that these small units laid out in an organic arrangement are far more in keeping with this sites intended holiday use.”

While the application states there would be no significant impact on residents or road safety from the proposed reconfiguration of the holiday park, villagers have claimed the developers are “looking to shoehorn in as many lodges as possible without regard for the environmental, ecological or economical impact”.

Objecting to the proposal, Sheriff Hutton Parish Council, which highlighted road safety concerns in the original proposal, said the revised plans represented a “significant over-development of the site” and a “gross intrusion on neighbouring properties”.

Calling for the scheme to be rejected, one resident wrote: “This road is notorious for speeding drivers travelling both from and to the village, it is just unbelievable if this gets approval.

“The council and police both know that this is a hazardous road, how can this be happening?”

In other objections to the scheme, residents said there were already “ample holidaying, camping and caravanning facilities” in Sheriff Hutton with several sites in the area and that 32 more lodges would “make it feel more like a holiday park with a village attached”.

A resident wrote: “There are no apparent positives to the village or its economy as the site will have its own shop.”