Caravan park plan in Hogsthorpe shelved after hundreds of objections

Plans for 65 caravans would have been totally unsuitable for a village near Skegness, locals claimed.

Around 600 objections were submitted for the original version of the plans, and a scaled-down version got another 800.

The static caravans would have been placed on a site off Sea Lane in Hogsthorpe.

Residents felt the isolated location with narrow roads would have put both drivers and pedestrians at risk.

East Lindsey District Council’s planning website now states the application has been withdrawn.

The site is between Mill Lane and Sea Lane in Hogsthorpe Photo: LDRS/The Lincolnite

Tom Morrissey, who lives near the park’s proposed entrance, said: “People are over the moon about the news. I heard about it last night, and the whole village is talking about it now.

“There were 810 objections by the end. That could have made all the difference.

“We don’t know exactly why the application was withdrawn, but there was a response from Highways asking that a footpath would need to be build along Sea Lane to the village. Perhaps the cost got too much?

“I hope this is the end and we don’t get another application, but we never know for sure.”

Tom and other organisers had spent weeks going door-to-door to rally villagers.

The plans were submitted by Andrew Clover Planning and Design on behalf of a local landowner.

The original plans were nearly twice as big, with 108 proposed caravans.

This was scaled back in August, with additional outdoor space and four new ponds added, in a bid to win over residents.

The new plans reference the public outcry, saying: “Following discussions with the planning officer and taking into account some of the comments made during the planning application, the scheme has been redesigned and the number of caravans significantly reduced.

“The latest scheme provides 65 caravans and represents a 40% reduction in number.”

One of the main complaints was how caravans would have been delivered down winding, country roads.

People staying at the park would have also had to walk down a road without footpaths to the village.

Chapel-St-Leonards resident Helen Tedman, 54, previously said that it would be dangerous build a caravan park on the site.

“The roads are absolutely terrible. The lanes are very narrow and many don’t have footpaths.

“I don’t know how on earth articulated lorries would get down there – my friend who used to be a HGV driver said it would be quite dangerous,” she said.

“There are no facilities in Hogsthorpe – just a shop and two pubs. It is so lovely in the village with vast views of the rolling fields, and we don’t want that to change.”

The withdrawal of the application leaves just one more caravan site application along the coast attracting a similar level of objection from the public.

A decision has yet to be made by East Lindsey Distrrict Council on the application by Florida developer Alan French for change of use of land south of Mill lane Addlethorpe for the siting of 490 static caravans.