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06
Jan
Planning consent clears way for Lightwater Valley glamping pods
Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park has been granted planning permission to build 31 glamping pods – and they could now be used all year round.
Approval of the company’s plans is the latest development in a long-running saga that started over a decade ago.
In 2013, Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd was granted permission to build 106 holiday lodges – plus reception, housekeeping and support service building – on a woodland site next to its 175-acre theme park at North Stainley.
But the consent came with conditions attached, one of which – condition number 12 – stipulated:
No chalet/lodge shall be occupied between 5 January and 5 March in any one year.
So Lightwater Valley applied to have this condition deleted, arguing that its purpose – to prevent people buying the lodges for permanent residential use – was covered by condition number 13, which stated:
The chalets/lodges hereby approved shall not be occupied by the same resident(s) for more than 28 days at any one time.
In a covering letter submitted with the application, consultancy RPS quoted Neville Watson, the planning case officer for the original application, as saying that condition 12 had been inserted “to avoid [the development] becoming the new settlement of ‘North Stainley New Town’” – an eventuality precluded by condition 13.
The application to drop condition 12 was granted, but the condition that the accommodation should not be used for more than 28 days at a time remained.
So last year, when the company applied to replace some of its planned chalets with pods, it also applied to have the 28-day restriction removed.
In a supporting statement, chartered surveyors Anderson Leisure LLP said:
The current planning restrictions are likely to reduce the demand for the purchase of lodges. This will put additional pressure on the funding of the scheme. It will make the project more dependent on debt.
This will place a question mark over the deliverability of the project, which has been designed to increase the use of the theme park, extend the season and underpin long-term sustainability.
That application was approved by North Yorkshire Council on Christmas Eve, subject to the condition that:
The chalets/lodges hereby approved shall not be used for any purpose other than holiday accommodation and shall not be used for permanent residential accommodation.
Now that Lightwater Valley appears to have secured all the permissions it was seeking, the way seems clear to begin work on the development.
Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park is owned by the Brighton Pier Group PLC, whose holdings also include Brighton Palace Pier, five bars nationwide, and eight indoor mini-golf sites.
The Stray Ferret has approached Lightwater Valley for comment.
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