Plans submitted for 30 holiday caravan pods in countryside near Navenby

The scheme to be considered by North Kesteven District Council is for 2.08 hectares of farm land at Lowfields, off Church Lane, Navenby, which would see the development of a collection of two-person holiday pods, known as Heptapods.

It would also require creation of a proper access road from Church Lane by upgrading an existing track with passing places, along with associated infrastructure, parking spaces, EV charging, lights, drainage and landscaping including increased woodland, grassland and hedgerow for wildlife habitat. According to documents submitted, the units would be let for holiday purposes on an all-year-round basis.

The site has existing planning permission for an equestrian centre comprising an indoor school, stables, hay store, outdoor school, paddocks and mobile home. As yet only the hay barn had been built in 2006.

The applicants claim: “This permission establishes the principle of leisure development on the site.”

They say the dispersed, low-profile holiday pods, combined with the committed landscape strategy would represent “a visual betterment” compared to the equestrian school plan, due to a reduction in scale and visual impact upon the Lincoln Cliff ‘Area of Great Landscape Value’.

They say: “The current proposal replaces one leisure use (equestrian) with another (holiday tourism), in a lower-impact form.”

They explained: “A riding school would generate horse-box traffic, equestrian event traffic and riders on the public highway, all of which would be removed with the current proposal.

"The holiday pods generate a more predictable, lower-intensity traffic pattern appropriate to the rural road network.”

The five-sided, 30ft × 13ft pods would have full glass frontages with large roof windows, maximising natural light. They would be fitted with air source heat pumps and solar panels.

The eastern half comprises a series of relatively small open pasture fields along the base of the hill, overlooked by the route of the Viking Way long distance walking route which also passes through the site, as does two other public paths. The western half includes lower-lying fields adjacent to a trout fishing lake also owned by the applicant.

The development layout would accommodate the existing footpath alignments which would serve as pedestrian access to Navenby village and the wider recreational walking network - reinforcing the rural tourism offer.

They add that it would suit the countryside location and Lincoln Cliff and drew attention to the economic benefits of business investment for the area through rural leisure and tourism.

The applicants say the development is estimated to generate £1.17m–£1.56m in annual visitor expenditure, of which £442,000–£589,000 would flow directly off-site to Navenby’s shops, pubs, restaurants and services. They went on: “The scheme includes no on-site visitor facilities, so all discretionary visitor expenditure benefits the host community. The scheme supports 13–18 full time equivalent jobs.”

The applicants are willing to have conditions set restricting the pods solely to holiday use.