Agenda item

Siting of 5 seasonal wooden camping pods, erection of shower / toilet unit, installation of a domestic sewage treatment plant and landscaping works.

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Anwen J Davies

 

Link to relevant background documents

DECISION: To approve the application subject to the following conditions:

           

1.    Commence within five years.

2.    In accordance with submitted plans.

3.    The access to the north that directly connects to the A497 shall not be used for business purposes under any circumstances.

4.    The number of units on the site at any one time to be restricted to 5.

5.    Restrict the season to between 1 March and 31 October.

6.    Holiday use only.

7.    Maintain a register of users

8.    No units to be stored on the site outside the season

9.    All internal and external signs to be in Welsh only or bilingual with a priority given to the Welsh language.

10.  The recommendations of the Ecological Assessment Report must be observed 

11.  A Pollution Prevention Plan must be submitted to include details for monitoring the quality of the water discharged into ditches.

 

Note - Fire Service, Natural Resources Wales, Land Drainage Unit

 

Siting of 5 seasonal wooden camping pods, erection of shower / toilet unit, installation of a domestic sewage treatment plant and landscaping works.

 

a)      The Planning Manager highlighted that this was an application to locate 5 timber pods for seasonal camping on a plot of wooded land near Boduan. The work would include erecting a building for showers / toilets, installation of sewage treatment work and landscaping. It was highlighted that the application had been submitted to committee on 22 November 2021 and 21 March 2022, when a decision on the application was deferred at the request of the applicants in order to allow them to provide more information to support their proposal. It was reported that the following information had now been added to the application.

•     Amended site plans including plans for an alternative access

•     Initial Ecological Assessment

•     Tree quality survey

•     Tree Preservation Plan

 

It was expressed that Policy TWR 5 stated that sites for temporary alternative camping accommodation and the policy should set a series of criteria in order to approve such developments.  It was reported that criterion 1 in policy TWR 5 states that any proposed development should be of a high quality in terms of design, layout and appearance, and should also be well screened by existing landscape features and / or where the touring units can be readily assimilated into the landscape in a way that does not significantly harm the visual quality of the landscape.  

 

It was considered that the proposal was located in a site that was hidden from most public vistas and was a site that was already planted with around 1000 trees, with the intention of managing the trees by coppicing. It was reiterated that the site was not located within the AONB, but it stood within the Special Landscape Area. Due to the formation of the land and the wooded nature of the site, it was not considered that the development would cause significant harm to the quality of the designated landscapes.

 

It was considered that the proposal would meet the needs to develop a new seasonal camping site as noted in Policy TWR 5 of the LDP and by imposing appropriate conditions to ensure that the highway access to the north (to the A497) will not be used at all for the purposes of the business, and mitigation steps to protect from pollution and to safeguard biodiversity, the development would meet with the requirements of the relevant policies of the LDP.

 

a)    Taking advantage of the right to speak, the applicant noted the following observations:

·         This was an application to obtain a small camping site located in a beautiful forest in the rear of the house.

·         All biodiversity reports had now confirmed that the trees that need to be removed were diseased trees. There was no intention to clear trees for the project, they only needed to be felled because they were dangerous

·         Had considered an alternative camping pod, instead of a timber structure. It would be easier to move when it needed to be stored at the end of the season.

·         That Natural Resources Wales had approved the sewage treatment system, which would be a huge improvement on the existing septic tank system.

·         That there were access rights in the field to the rear of the house - with a legal right of way and the original road to Nant farm. It would be possible to divert the traffic of that road and park by the gate. This would avoid traffic from the Pwllheli-Nefyn road.

·         That the impact on noise and light pollution and the welfare of the bats had been considered

·         There was a proposal to protect and safeguard the beautiful environment in Nant - the site would offer a positive experience to the tourism sector in Penrhyn Llŷn

 

 

c)    It was proposed and seconded to approve the application

 

ch)  During the ensuing discussion, the following observation by a member was noted:

·         That creating a new track in itself caused pollution

 

In response to a question about the site being 'far from services', it was noted that the site was close to the main roads network and that buses offered a public transport option to the site. The proposal met the policy requirements.

 

RESOLVED: To approve the application subject to the following conditions:

     

1.   Commence within five years.

2.   In accordance with submitted plans.

3.   The access to the north that directly connects to the A497 shall not be used for business purposes in any circumstances.

4.   The number of units on the site at any one time to be restricted to 5.

5.   Restrict the season to between 1 March and 31 October.

6.   Holiday use only.

7.   Maintain a register of users

8.   No units to be stored on the site outside the season

9.   All internal and external signs to be in Welsh only or bilingual with a priority given to the Welsh language.

10. The recommendations of the Ecological Assessment Report must be observed 

11. A Pollution Prevention Plan must be submitted to include details for monitoring the quality of the water discharged into ditches.

 

Note - Fire Service, Natural Resources Wales, Land Drainage Unit