Caravan Club to build 82-pitch site on former RAF airfield
The village of Wymeswold was home to an Air Force base during World War Two
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Tuesday, 03, Jul 2012 09:08
by Tom Lowenstein
The Caravan Club is set to add another holiday destination to its portfolio of Club Sites after Charnwood Borough Council in Loughborough, Leicestershire, gave it the go-ahead to build an 82-pitch park at Wymeswold Airfield.
Objections had been lodged by the parish council of Hoton and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, and local residents submitted a petition with 59 signatures, but the borough council ruled that the tourism boost was more important.
The Club is now set to begin work on the site, which will feature a reception building, amenity block and a unit for the park warden. Storage space for 80 tourers is also included in the planning application, the Loughborough Echo reported.
Concerns were raised about the potentially damaging impact of the increased traffic for the local environment and worries about noise and pollution.
Hoton Paris Council spokesman Stuart Ibister also questioned the Club's prediction that it would generate £600,000 per year for the local economy and said the plans would create an "unsightly spot on the nose" of the village.
"Despite the A60 running through, Hoton is a small, relatively quiet, village with 110 houses," he told the news provider. "The proposal will seek to alter that overnight."
However, national planning guidelines are written in favour of promoting tourism and councillors were advised to support the application, with 12 out of 13 giving it their approval.
Speaking to the newspaper, head of estates at the Club Tony Barnett said: "The Caravan Club is delighted with this decision and that Charnwood has acknowledged the merits of this project and benefits it will bring to local businesses."
The new site will be open all year round and it will be situated on the site of RAF Wymeswold, which was built in 1942 as a base for Wellington bombers.