Caravan park size will quadruple

A caravan site near Newtown is set to quadruple in size.

Planners have given approval to expansion plans on land at Tregynon.

Earlier this year, Hannah and Wyn Morris, lodged a planning application with Powys County Council.

It included plans to create 20 static caravan plots together with the construction of four-metre-wide access tracks and the installation of a sewage treatment plant at a field on Finger Post Farm.

The livestock farm is between Tregynon and Bettws Cedewain.

Planning permission for five chalets was granted back in 2003 and in 2019 this was “varied” to allow five static caravans to be placed there.

This means that up to 25 caravans can now be sited at the farm.

Both local county councillor, Heulwen Hulme, and Tregynon community council had backed the scheme.

Senior planning officer, Kate Bowen, said: “The proposed development would be a significant extension to the existing caravan park which has five permitted caravans.

“However, it is considered that the development has been designed to integrate into the topography of the land and therefore whilst the site would be visible from public vantage points in the immediate locality, it would not be visible in longer views.”

“Considerable weight has been given to the land being classified as grade 3a by the Agricultural Land Classification map.

“However, taking into account the extent of land involved, the availability of best and most versatile land in the area, the economic benefits of the development as a tourism scheme as part of farm diversification outweigh the loss of high-quality agricultural land in this instance.

“The recommendation is one of conditional consent.”

A number of conditions are attached to the approval which will need to be adhered to.

One of the conditions is that if the tourism business stops operating, the field will need to be restored to its original state.

Another condition is that the caravans will be used only for holiday accommodation and not as anyone’s main home.

To prove this, the applicants will need to keep an up-to-date register showing the visitors home addresses, and the dates they stayed there.

This register will need to be available for inspection.

 

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service