A HOLIDAY chalet park owner’s bid to put up an additional 21 lodges has been withdrawn after planning officers said it would harm the landscape.

Swallow Lakes Ltd already has 27 chalets at Swallow Lakes Farm Park in Longhope, while permission for another 24 static caravans was granted by the planning inspector in 2018.The family-run business wanted to increase the latter number to 45 new lodges, but it pulled the plan for the park, which used to be part of the Dick Whittington Park, last week after a Forest Council planning report recommended refusal.

A report on behalf of the applicant said: “It has come to light that, due to the infrastructure costs associated with the installation of the Park, economies of scale can be achieved and it is a more viable proposition to incorporate a larger number and therefore a larger number of units."

But Longhope Parish Council clerk, Andrew Maliphant, told planners: “It is a matter of record that the parish council has objected consistently in the past to developments on this site, noting the potential impact on the environment, on highways, and also on village services should occupants of the lodges decide to make them their permanent home – these objections very much remain our concern.”

“We are also concerned that the lodges are being offered for sale without any mention of holiday use only,” he added.

The applicant withdrew the plan last week the day before the planning committee was due to make a site visit.A report by the council's planning department said insufficient information had been provided to show: – safe and suitable access could be provided; a public footpath would be protected; it wouldn't harm the local ecology; there wouldn't be "an unacceptable risk to human health due to land contamination"; and the lodges were for holiday use only.