Contentious caravan site scheme put on hold by Welsh council

Bruce Sinclair, Local democracy reporter

Contentious plans to relocate 47 caravan pitches to a small village near the Ceredigion seaside town of New Quay, which were recommended to be refused, have been put on hold.

In an application recommended for refusal at the March meeting of Ceredigion County Council’s development management committee, Vale Holiday Parks Ltd, through agent Geraint John Planning Ltd, seeks to relocate 17 caravans from Wern Mill Caravan Park, and 30 caravans from The Village Holiday Park, to allow for 47 pitches at Ocean Heights Holiday Parks, Maenygroes, some 1.6 miles from the seaside town of New Quay on the A486 road.

A supporting statement accompanying the application planning said the 17 caravans from Wern Mill, Gilfachrheda, some 2.5 miles away, and 30 from Village Holiday Park, Cross Inn, some 0.7 miles away, “would form a natural extension to the existing Ocean Heights Park”.

New Quay Town Council has not discussed the scheme due to not being in quorate due to the number of councillors declaring an interest, but local community council Llanllwchaearn is opposing the scheme which it says “would double the area of the site” for a long list of reasons, concluding: “The council recognised the strong opinion expressed by the residents of Maen-y-groes against this application.”

Since the application was lodged last year, objectors have raised their concerns about the scheme, with many concerns raised on the council’s planning portal, including road safety, impact on residents, impacts on wastewater infrastructure, and claims it would be a “massive overdevelopment”.

An officer report recommending refusal said: “The site is not considered to function as a sustainable location, due to its limited active travel connectivity, lack of local services, and continued reliance on private car travel. As a result, the proposal does not align with the sustainable transport and placemaking principles required under national and local policy.”

It also said the proposal has not “demonstrated that the development is small scale or meets a specific local need, nor does it accord with the rural enterprise provisions of TAN 6,” adding it “would increase the number of static caravans within the coastal area and would not result in any significant and permanent visual improvement to Wern Mill”.

It went on to say: “Only limited visual benefit would arise at the Village Holiday Park, while clear landscape harm would occur at Ocean Heights, and the proposal is also likely to have some negative effect on the facilities within Cross Inn.

“The proposal represents a significant expansion of the existing holiday park onto undeveloped greenfield land at the rural edge of Maen‑y‑Groes, a settlement with no services and limited active travel connections. This would erode the existing greenfield buffer and materially alter the rural character of the settlement.

“The resulting landscape and amenity impacts conflict [with planning policies]. Furthermore, the loss of Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land has also not been justified by any overriding need.

“Taking all matters into account, the proposal does not accord with national and local planning policies, and the identified adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweigh any benefits advanced in support of the application.”

At the meeting, members heard from Head of planning for Ceredigion Russell Hughes-Pickering, who said the application had been withdrawn from the agenda following further information being sent to members after the committee agenda had been published.

The application is expected to return to a future committee meeting.