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Planning permission has been denied to a proposed touring caravan site in Kirkby Lonsdale, in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria.
The small market town is currently home to several caravan parks, however the building of a new one was turned down due to the proposed location.
The site would have been at the edge of the Cumbrian town and it was felt, by South Lakeland District Council and supported by a government-appointed planning inspector, that harm to the town’s natural beauty would be too great.
Planning inspector, Jim Metcalfe, was brought in following the initial refusal decision of the Council was objected to by the applicant. The proposal was first discussed at a meeting last summer.
During the meeting, Allan Muirhead, Chairman of Kirkby Lonsdale Town Council raised objection to the planning permission, stating that it was paramount any development did not compromise the integrity of the town, or the quality of its surrounding countryside.
In response, Mark Sidley, the applicant’s agent, stated that the development would be sympathetic to the surrounding area.
On balance, it was concluded that the adverse effect on the appearance of the landscape outweighed the economic benefits of the scheme.
Inspector Metcalfe said in his report: “The built-up area of Kirkby Lonsdale has well-defined limits and the caravan site would be in a visually sensitive location, in the open countryside that provides an attractive rural setting for an attractive market town.
“The caravan park would be an isolated development that would be seen as forming a spread of peripheral activity, where at present, there is a sharp edge to the town.”
