Historic Welsh campsite wins lawful status for overflow field

Bruce Sinclair, Local Democracy Reporter

A call to allow an overflow campsite to remain at a popular holiday spot, which has been in existence for a century, has been given the go-ahead by the national park.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, John Beer, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, sought a Certificate of Lawfulness permission for a field north of Whitesands Camping, Whitesands Bay, St Davids, used as a seasonal overflow tenting site.

An application for a certificate of lawfulness allows an applicant to stay at or keep a development if they can provide proof of occupancy or use over a prolonged period, in this case the applicant saying it has been used between May and September from 2015-2025.

A supporting statement said the campsite forms part of a wider farm holding at Ty Gwyn Farm which has been in the same family for some 400 years; the site and several of the surrounding fields have been used for seasonal camping for many years, going as far back as the 1920s.

It said the southern part of the campsite, for 15 tents and 15 motorhomes/caravans, already benefitted from a 2019 certificate of lawfulness, the latest call for the northern field.

It added: “At various times, the campsite has been the subject of enforcement investigations by the Park Authority, going back to 2014 and more recently in 2019 and 2023.

“It was alleged that part of the field had been used for overflow camping for more than 28 days and therefore that planning permission was required for that change of use of the land. This clearly shows the breach has occurred over 10 years, by PCNP investigations over this time.

“However, in view of the length of time the land in question has been used as a seasonal overflow camping site for tents, it was felt that a certificate of lawfulness would be more appropriate. Hence, this Certificate of Lawfulness application seeks to regularise the use of the application site for this historic use of the land.”

The statement added: “There is evidence of caravan and camping at Ty Gwyn from the early 1900s forward. Indeed, camping has taken place at Whitesands long before anywhere else in the area. By the 1930s, increased demand for pitches justified the building of two toilet blocks on the fields.

“In the late 1930s, and during the Second World War, the size of Whitesands Car Park grew as a result of sand being excavated for ‘the war effort’ (from The Burrows and Car Park), when the Armaments Depot at Trecwn and runways at St Davids and Brawdy Airfields were built.”

An officer report recommending approval said: “The application is supported by a comprehensive evidence bundle including a statutory declaration by the landowner, 12 witness statements, historic planning decisions, dated photographic evidence spanning the period 2011–2025, historical photographs of the site, site licences and plans identifying the land to which the certificate relates.”

It said two objections had been received, relating to the continuity of the claimed use, the effect of the Covid-19 restrictions on the 10-year period, and whether the application site has genuinely functioned as an overflow camping area, along with general planning concerns.

It said: “Whilst these matters have been noted, they are not material to the determination of a Certificate of Lawfulness except insofar as they assist in establishing the factual nature, extent or continuity of the claimed use.”

It added: “The temporary interruption associated with the Covid-19 pandemic is not considered to amount to a break in the continuity of the claimed use, nor does it prevent the accrual of immunity [under planning rules].”

The certificate of lawfulness application was approved.

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