Touring Caravan Park given the nod by South Cambs Planning Committee

South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) Planning Committee at its meeting in April 2012 considered an application for change of use of land from countryside to touring caravan park. The land in question is on the old A428 St Neots Road approach to Caldecote, situated between the bungalow Nimitabel and the white spanish style bungalow Casa de Foseta. The officer recommendation was for delegated approval, but had to be determined by committee because Caldecote Parish Council had recommended it for refusal.

The planning application S/1383/11 for up to 20 touring caravan spaces on the site submitted by Morris and Partners on behalf of their client Mr Nelson O’Connor, was received by SCDC on 11 July 2011. It was then registered on 20 September 2011 which signalled the start of the formal consultation process. A previous planning application to build 4 bungalows had been refused and dismissed at appeal on the grounds that the site is outside of the development envelope of the village and is therefore not available for residential use. Furthermore, it was a long standing habitat to the Great Crested Newts (GCN) which is a protected species.

Consultation response from Caldecote Parish Council

Caldecote Parish Council (CPC) received the consultation papers and considered the application at its monthly meeting of 6 October 2011. The applicant and his agent attended the meeting to present their proposal, and some members of the public also attended to voice their concerns and objections to the proposal. At the end of the discussion, the parish councillors, informed the applicant and his agent that the Parish Council, on behalf of residents of Caldecote, could not support the proposal and would be recommending refusal to SCDC. The detailed reasons put forward by the CPC for this view can be found in the minutes of the CPC meeting but in summary, stated that

• the proposed use was too intensive and not in keeping with the character of the area
• the site was too cramped for 20 touring caravans and ancillary vehicles,
• that there was no need for another touring caravan park in the area considering those in Comberton and Bourn were strongly to reach full capacity even at peak times of the year
• Caldecote lacked facilities to support such a development
• the land was prone to being water logged and drainage was a problem in the village
• the land is habitat for Great Crested Newts, a protected species
• there was serious concern the site would be used for permanent occupation

The Planning Department however considered that the site could support the use as a touring caravan park and therefore recommended the application for approval. This type of application would normally have been dealt with under the officers’ delegated powers. However, because Caldecote PC had recommended refusal, and this was contrary to officer’s recommendation, it had to be referred to the Planning Committee to be determined.

 The Great Crested Newt

One of the main objections that had previously stood in the way of development of the site is the Great Crested Newts (GCN), a protected species whose habitat is to be found on the land. In sections 18-21 of the planning committee report, the Ecology officer records his surprise at not finding any GCN on the site. This situation being a culmination of the unauthorised clearing of the land in December 2008, and the Police called in to stop the clearance. Charges were pressed against the land owner, as the site clearance was by law considered illegal. However, the Crown Prosecution Service failed to prosecute, leaving Caldecote residents bewildered and disappointed, and justice denied. The site deteriorted very rapidly subsequently to the site clearance, culminating in the disappearance of the species from the land.

 Planning Committee Deliberation

The planning report was prepared for the application, providing the facts that are considered relevant to the case. All applications that are referred to committee are accompanied by such a report, which the members of the planning committee read prior to deliberating on the application. An update report was subsequently prepared and made available prior to the meeting. The reader is encouraged to read both the main and update reports to get a good understanding of the case.

At the planning meeting hearing, the CPC was represented by Cllr Fiona Whelan, who strongly re-iterated the main objections of the parish council. One neighbour also spoke as an objector outlining various concerns including that the site could become a permanent one. There was no member of the public to speak in favour of the application.

As the District Councillor for Caldecote and member of the planning committee, I argued vigorously against the application. I presented a number of points to the committee, reminding them of the history of the site, how the site had been systematically degraded as a habitat for the GCN, and of SCDC’s own woefully inadequate response to this deliberate act. I outlined the harm the development would potentially do to the amenity of neighbours on all three sides, the impact on the character of the area, and the perennial drainage and sewerage problem that exists in the village, and one which Anglian Water in its wisdom keeps denying exists and which SCDC with all the statutory powers vested in it, cannot seem to do anything about. I also informed members that two existing touring caravan sites in this part of the district were at struggling to operate at full capacity, and therefore questioned the need for yet another touring caravan park.

As members of the planning committee deliberated on this case, it became apparent that it divided opinion, and moreover, it was obvious that there was an elephant in the room, and anyone who mentioned it did so at their peril. The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development, Cllr Nick Wright who was present at the meeting as an unrecorded guest, insisted that the park would be good for encouraging tourism to the wider Cambridge area, and therefore be good for the economic development of south cambridgeshire in general.

The final decision was a deadlocked 7 votes for and 7 votes against (including mine) granting delegated approval for this change of use. The chairman’s casting vote decided the application in favour of delegated approval, much to my dismay and that of all the Caldecote residents present. This episode also demonstrated (yet again) the questionable decision by the political administration to have an even number committee. The update report outlines various planning conditions to be attached to the planning consent following detailed negotiations with parties involved. The applicant would also be issued with a Licence to operate a touring caravan park, with the licence conditions mirroring the planning consent that is given.

The decision notice has not yet been issued, and therefore planning approval is not finalised.

Caldecote Residents Reaction

The decision has proven to be most unpopular with both Caldecote Parish Council, and the residents of the village. Caldecote PC at its April meeting following the SCDC decision, resolved to send two letters, the first a strongly worded letter to SCDC making a formal complaint regarding the decision and putting the council on notice should the site be used for purposes other than a touring caravan park, and the second requesting a meeting with Senior Planning officers to raise its concerns face to face. The meeting with planning took place on 15^th May 2012, and was reported back to residents at the Annual Parish Meeting (APM) that took place on 17^th May 2012.

As a result of discussions at the APM, SCDC has received further letters from the CPC and several other residents, and SCDC is now engaged in the process of reading all of them to ascertain if there is any new information in them.

Meanwhile, the CPC is also obtaining assistance from the British Caravanning Association with regard to obtaining the finer details of licensing conditions that could be passed on to SCDC to inform the final version of the conditions that could be attached to the license, in the event that consent is finally given for the use of the site as a touring caravan park.

For anyone who wants further clarification from SCDC administration, make plans to attend the next Caldecote Parish council meeting on Thursday 7^th June 2012, where Cllr Nick Wright, the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development has promised to attend to answer questions about this matter.

Please click here for update – 6 June 2012

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