Holiday village in the works set to create 160 jobs

PLANNING has been submitted for the development of a ‘green’ holiday village near Great Ayton in North Yorkshire, which promises to create 160 jobs.

Hambleton District Council is looking over plans put forward by local farmer Alan Petch. Announced earlier this year, the plans have been amended to reduce the number of chalets and increase landscaping works.

The initial plans were for a 179 chalet park, which has been cut in the new plans by 48 chalets.

The planners estimate that the scheme will provide around £5.6m of direct spending in the local economy by visitors and a direct and indirect economic impact of £24.4m in the local economy per year.

Feedback to date has focused on the scale of the development, potential impact on nearby properties and visual impact from public vantage points and the surrounding roads.

Steve Hesmondhalgh, planning consultant on the proposal, said: “We’re grateful for the input of all the local people who took the time to come and view the proposals in August and provide us with their feedback.

“We appreciate the concern around the scale of the development and the proximity of some of the chalets to nearby residences and on the overall visual impact of the scheme.

“We’ve taken on board peoples’ comments and we feel that the proposal we are now putting forward represents a real benefit to the area and the rural economy around Great Ayton and Stokesley.

“We have reduced the number of chalets, taking them away from the edge of the site and neighbouring properties, creating a more spacious environment and we’ve incorporated around 50% more planting, to help reduce the visual impact and improve ecological benefits.”