New luxury holiday lodges planned for Welsh countryside

Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter 

New holiday lodges that promise to be “unlike anything else in the area” are planned for the Welsh countryside.

Plans have been filed with Vale of Glamorgan Council to build additional “bespoke 5* luxury holiday lodges” at a popular Welsh equestrian centre.

According to applicant, Tim Vaughan Racing Ltd, the current site, Pant Wilkin Stables, is a family-owned and “high quality” tourism and leisure destination with holiday lodges, racing stables and supporting facilities.

There are currently six holiday lodges on site, with the application asking for permission for an additional 20 lodges.

They are “low single-storey” units made from timber and are “not conventional buildings”.

Each lodge has a parking space available, while an electric vehicle charging point is also proposed for every building.

The application reads: “The lodges will also provide desirable accommodation for those wishing to explore the area, its events and other local attractions.”

It continues: “These include the annual food festival, Cowbridge’s heritage, including the medieval town wall, its castles, neolithic burial chambers and Dyffryn House and gardens.

“The countryside beyond is home to many outdoor activities and award-winning food and drink producers.”

This is a resubmission of a previous application for 25 holiday lodges that was refused on the grounds that the development would have a “detrimental impact on the appearance and character of the countryside”.

In 2025, according to the application, the current lodges had an “unprecedented” 81% occupancy rate, which is “well above” the national average.

This “clearly demonstrates the unprecedented demand and need”, according to the application.

The site of the proposal is said to be “well hidden within the landscape” as it is “set within a valley with a gentle sloping southerly aspect and surrounded by mature woodland, expanded tree belts, hedgerows and mature tree cover.”

Additional planting is proposed to ensure the site is “totally screened from without.”

The application reads: “The additional holiday lodges will diversify and safeguard the enterprise, create additional employment and spends within the local economy, and provide a higher standard of holiday lodge unlike anything else in the area.”

According to the application, the proposal is environmentally sustainable and “makes best use of” resources and meets policy requirements.

The council’s target decision date on the plans is given as March 31 2026.