Holiday park residents in limbo as plans rejected
As many as 300 people living at a caravan park in Harrietsham are facing an uncertain future after a planning application for the site was refused.
Pilgrims Retreat, off Hogbarn Lane, hit the headlines earlier this year after allegations many residents were misled to thinking they were buying a permanent retirement home - a claim strongly denied by owners Sines Parks Luxury Living Ltd. Confusingly, the holiday lodges can be used year-round, but only by people who have a permanent home elsewhere. The residents’ plight was raised in Westminster in March by MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, Helen Whately.
The owners have since submitted a “part-retrospective” planning application to Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) seeking a change of use from a mixture of holiday and residential units to fully residential. But at the same time, they have sought to expand from 198 lodges to 248. The move was a step too far for the council. MBC’s development manager, James Bailey, told a meeting of the planning committee last week that, as the site lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the law only allowed development in “exceptional circumstances.” Other problems included a lack of detail about arrangements for sewage and surface water drainage, restricted landscaping, no agreed section 106 mitigation payments and an “inadequate” transport plan. Speaking as a Harrietsham parish councillor, Eddie Powell (Ind) said: “We have every sympathy for the residents who have bought their homes in good faith and now find themselves in an invidious position, but the site is a scar on the landscape that can be seen for miles.”
The park’s residents’ association urged members to approve the application, saying residents sought “only peace of mind and to enjoy their retirement in this beautiful location.”
The plans received 111 letters of support and one objection. Cllr Janetta Sams (Ind) spoke up for the many people “who had already sold their homes and had nowhere else to live.” Cllr Malcolm McKay (Lab) said: “Clearly some sharp practices have been going on. I will vote to refuse permission, but with a heavy heart.”