Villagers' fury at plans for more than 100 caravans at Hogsthorpe

Villagers have already met to sign letters of objection to the proposals to site 104 static caravans at Mill House in Sea Lane, which is currently home to a residential property and four holiday cottages.

Developers say “the Local Plan is supportive of extensions to existing sites, and this is reflected in permissions which have been granted since its adoption”.

However, so far the proposal has failed to win support locally, with more than 60 letters of objection submitted at the time of going to print.

Helen Tedman, 57, has lived in Chapel St Leonards for nine years and believes the plan will “affect the quality of life of residents".

She said: "We are talking about a little village here and it could end up being like Ingoldmells. The whole East Coast is just going to end up being one huge caravan park

"This extension would cause a lot of extra traffic, noise, pollution and devaluation of homes in the area.

"The application want all-year occupancy but there is not enough infrastructure available to support these extra units.

“There is no safe place for access as there is no footpath for pedestrian.

"The roads are going to need sorting out if this happens because they're in an absolute state.

I've lived here for nine years and it's always been nice and peaceful but this plan is essentially like slapping a Butlins in the middle of nowhere."

The application, submitted by Neil Balderson, states the proposal is to “diversify the accommodation on offer at Mill Farm using the south and west adjoining fields to provide a dedicated area for static holiday caravans.”

"Mill Farm is a successful holiday site, with its four holiday cottages being booked for most of the season,”

"The overall layout of the site has been designed to be sympathetic to the location, with the layout reflecting the semi-rural character of the area,” the support statement says.

“Caravans would be made available for all-year occupancy until December 2049 From January 2050, no caravans would be permitted between November 1 and March 14 the following year.

"Significant weight should be made on the need to support economic growth and productivity, taking into account both local business needs and wider opportunities for development."

The statement also says: “Existing hedges would be maintained and bolstered with a significant programme of landscaping which will provide sufficient screening to ensure there is no harm on the landscape.”

In addition to the letters of objection from residents in Hogsthorpe and Chapel St Leonards, Lincolnshire County Council and Hogsthorpe Parish Council have also opposed the plans.

Hogsthorpe Parish Council said the :village already had problems with “speeding and road rage”

“In a peaceful rural location this would give rise to pollution and disruption of the daily lives of the residents," the council said.

" The road is not sufficient for the heavy traffic. Hogsthorpe is already overloaded with traffic which needs to be resolved.

"A path would have to be made so that the people and especially children would find it very dangerous walking along these narrow roads.”

“There would be no access for people or children with disabilities.“The roads would have to be widened to accommodate the transportation of caravans. This would be very difficult at present and incur safety issues.“There would be more service vehicles, deliveries and extra refuse. There would also be increased traffic from the site residents.“There are flooding issues within this site. It is a high risk flood zone 3 area.“There are no facilities in Hogsthorpe for the extra people. There is only one shop. The residents have a problem with parking in the High Street. This will escalate the problem.“There will be increased safety concerns for Orchard Farm and other equestrian users regarding safety of horses and riders.“Anti social behaviour and more crime will be more apparent.“The local doctors, dentists and hospitals are under great strain. This will add to it.“There will be added stress on the water, electricity and sewage. We already have power-cuts in this area and water pressure problems.”

Lincolnshire County Council in its letter of objection commented: “The nearest settlement to the proposed development is Hogsthorpe which is defined as

a large village and not subject to coastal policies.

“The development does not diversify the tourism and leisure economy as it provides even more caravans; and, - over 100 static caravans on a relatively small site is considered overdevelopment at a scale and intensity which is incompatible with its rural surroundings.

“The proposed development is not considered to be in close proximity (not defined in the Local Plan) to the nearest large village (Hogsthorpe).”

The Environment Agency has called for a number of conditions. “The proposed development will only meet the National Planning Policy Framework’s requirements in relation to flood risk if planning conditions are included.to reduce the risk of flooding to the proposed development and future occupants.

"Condition 1.-The development shall be carried out in accordance the submitted flood risk assessment, flood resilience and resistance measures are incorporated into the proposed development as stated within paragraph 6.0.

“Condition 2 – No caravans which are to be located within the area at risk of flooding shall be occupied between November 1 and March 14 in the succeeding year.”