Holiday park bid gets go-ahead
COUNCIL APPROVES THE PLANS, DESPITE CONCERNS
A MAJOR new tourist development in Northumberland has been given the green light, despite local concerns.
Plans for the large holiday park on the former Steadsburn opencast mine site were approved by 12 votes to two at the December 4 meeting of the county council’s strategic planning committee.
The planned holiday destination would include a beauty salon, swimming pool and play area alongside camping pitches and space for caravans – though golf course plans have been dropped.
But permission is subject to several matters being ironed out. Network Rail has concerns about potential increased risk at nearby level crossings on the East Coast Mainline.
As well as objections to the application itself, residents and parish councillors in nearby Widdrington were angry about the consultation process following an error in the site’s location.
It had been on the agenda for the previous month, however, the day before the meeting, the application was withdrawn amid concerns the community had not had a fair chance to have its say.
At that meeting, Liz Sinnamon, from the council’s planning department, explained that it had come to light after the agenda had been drawn up that the application had been listed in the wrong parish.
While the correct parish council – Widdrington Village – had been consulted during the process, the application remained in the wrong parish on the authority’s online planning portal.
A Widdrington resident added that there was ‘no evidence’ for the economic benefits claimed by the applicant, Callaly Leisure, and that it was a ‘complete fabrication’ for planners to suggest that residential amenity will not be harmed.
But a representative of the company said that the planning process, which started more than a year ago with discussions with ward member Coun Scott Dickinson and the parish council, had been ‘absolutely transparent.’
He also focused on the positives of the development – the creation of 100 full-time and 30 part-time jobs and £7-8m of annual visitor spending in the local economy.
The application was discussed for some time, with a series of questions asked of officers, before Coun Trevor Thorne moved approval, saying he believed that all of the issues had been dealt with rigorously.
But Coun Jeff Reid said: “At first you think it’s a really good idea, a good boost to tourism and a sound business plan, but when you get there, you think it’s too big, too disruptive.
“I’m by no means a nimby, but I think that is going to impact negatively on too many lives in the vicinity.”
Coun Barry Flux said: “I have a lot of sympathy for residents in this area because it’s very large compared to the village, but, in all honesty, I can’t see a planning reason to refuse it.”
Reporter