Plan to build 22 holiday lodges between A5 and the river is approved

* The development area between the A5 and the river marked on a site plan.

Denbighshire planners have approved a scheme to build 22 new holiday lodges at Eirianfa Country Park in Llangollen which its developers claim will create over £1m of extra spending in the area.

The site, which lies between the A5 and the River Dee between the White Waters Hotel and Ystrad Hall, was once used as a touring campsite and has existing consents for this type of use, according to a report which was considered by the planning committee this morning (Wednesday).

The report says that all 22 of the holiday homes will be let out on a short-term basis of either a full or half week. None will be individually owned. There would be two site managers plus cleaners and groundsmen to run the site. 

Beyond the £1.46m anticipated to be spent with local contractors for the construction phase, based on the average spend of £250 per person a week, the scheme would generate an estimated £1.14 million spend in the local area per year, adds the report.

The applicants, Hereford Dwellings Company Limited, are said to have over 40 years of experience as leisure park operators. 

The report goes on: "Officers consider that the scheme would create significant economic benefits for the area through construction, job creation and use. 

"As the units are proposed to be let only, this would ensure the ongoing management/upkeep of the units and site generally. 

"Having regard to the detailing of the proposals, the potential impacts on the locality, and the particular tests of the relevant policies, the application is considered to be acceptable and is recommended for grant."

The council received five letters of objection, which raised traffic congestion, overdevelopment, and concerns about safety as the site is close to the river.

A summary of objectors’ anti-social behaviour fears is also included in the planning report, alleging a previous campsite on the land brought unruly behaviour.

Llangollen Town Council formally objected to the application claiming that it conflicts with the Local Development Plan and is not small in scale and proportionate to its location, particularly within and adjoining the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or Area of Outstanding Beauty, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site,  or other regionally important landscape areas. 

The town council also said the development would result in an overconcentration of sites in any one locality to the detriment of the landscape or residential amenity. 

In supporting the application, Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards said: "This is a complex and finely balanced application on a long-established tourism site on the edge of Llangollen, within one of the most sensitive landscape and environmental settings we deal with locally.

"We are not considering a new tourism use in the open countryside. The site already benefits from a long planning history and extant permissions for a significant number of holiday units, together with previous caravan and chalet uses, some of which have been implemented.

"What is proposed today is a revised scheme for 22 units, which is a reduction in overall numbers compared to the existing consents, along with a more structured layout, enhanced landscaping, and modernised drainage and ecological mitigation measures."

Planning committee members unanimously accepted the officers' recommendation to grant the application subject to a lengthy list of over 20 conditions.