‘Disgrace’ cries over holiday park’s extension
A PLAN to extend the UK’s first luxury sustainable holiday location has been given the green light, despite concerns the site is so severely contaminated with heavy metals that those who visit it are risking their health.
As Richmondshire District councillors voted to approve Natural Retreats’ scheme in open countryside to the west of Richmond, there were cries of “disgrace” from residents.
They claimed failures by the authority to enforce planning conditions over contaminants since it approved the self-catering holiday park – which features lodges currently on the market for £295,000 – in 2003 may have led to pollution in the River Swale.
The meeting heard a report by consultants Amec Foster Wheeler, which was published in June 2016, but not posted on the council’s website until December 2017, revealed highly elevated concentrations of lead and concentrations of copper, nickel and zinc had been found on the former Army rifle range and council landfill site.
The report states “there are potential unacceptable outstanding risks to human health should the remediation and mitigation measures recommended to the council in 2003 not have been implemented”.
The meeting, which saw Coun Jimmy Wilson-Petch apologise for proposing the application be granted ahead of a debate, was told livestock had died as a result of council planners’ failure to enforce its planning conditions.
He said: “Council officers, being aware of such vital evidence, should have reassured the public that mitigation measures would be implemented immediately and made sure they were.” Neighbours John and Nora Yates told the meeting: “It can be assumed that all owners, visitors on this site, plus the owners and visitors to surrounding land, are at risk from exposure to these contaminants.”
Gordon Love, of Richmondshire Landscape Trust, added: “We have been advised that any or all of these contaminants may have spread on to our land and to the River Swale.” He said while the council had pledged to impose conditions on the latest application that the contamination issues needed to be cleared up before the new lodges were built, “given the history of this matter we have no confidence that such conditions would be enforced”.
Adam Gough, of Natural Retreats, told the meeting the “highquality self-catering tourism business” contributed £275,000 to the local economy.
He said since concerns were raised last year, an independent contractor and the Environment Agency had tested for potential contamination in water courses and had found all to be clear.
Mr Gough said investigations had revealed nearby flooding was not caused by the site and that the proposed development was of a “small scale”.
The majority of councillors on the Tory-led committee said they were happy to approve the scheme on the condition the contamination and flooding issues were dealt with, if necessary, ahead of building work.