Concerns are mounting that a staycation-inspired boom in holiday lodges, glamping sites and static caravan parks could end up harming the region’s tourism industry, impacting on communities and spoiling landscapes.
Recent weeks have seen planning authorities across North Yorkshire warned about overseeing an oversupply of holiday accommodation and the loss of agricultural land as schemes to diversify farms have been approved.
North Yorkshire County Council’s deputy leader Councillor Gareth Dadd said while tourism was a critical industry for the area, so was agriculture. He said it was important to strike the right balance as well as protect the area’s rural character.
He said:
“I think we are in danger of over-supply and it could detract from what attracts people into the county. We have got to be careful going forward.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic councils and national park authorities in the county have seen about 100 planning applications submitted to launch glamping pods, shepherds huts, log cabins or extend existing holiday parks.
While many schemes are yet to be decided, the overwhelming majority of those that have been considered have been approved. Alongside the business rates they generate for councils, elected members often point towards the amounts visitors spend on local services and products.
As Richmondshire District Council’s planning committee considered a plan for 15 timber lodges at a Middleham farm this week, members raised concerns over the long-term impact of many acres of agricultural land elsewhere in the district becoming covered with holiday accommodation.
Councillor Jimmy Wilson Petch said:
“It does worry me about the plethora of chalet applications that are coming. While we are in staycation they are absolutely full, but what worries me is in a year or two’s time when everybody starts going abroad again there are going to be an awful lot of empty chalets.”
The debates came just days after the North York Moors National Park Authority approved plans for more timber lodges at Runswick Bay and a glamping site at Byland Abbey.
The authority’s chairman, Jim Bailey, said the surge in applications was being market-driven, as where people used to be happy with a touring caravan or a tent, they now wanted a glamping pod or a holiday lodge.
He said while the authority aimed to help promote the enjoyment and understanding of the park as well as assist farms to diversify, there was a determination not to get into a situation where the local people start to resent visitors, so achieving the right balance with holiday accommodation was vital.
Mr Bailey said:
“In the North York Moors National Park we try hard to make our visitor economy related to our rural economy. It’s important to have smaller sites so they don’t have a big impact on the surrounding communities and so that they are managed by local business or better still help support a local farm.”
A number of large-scale proposals that have been lodged in North Yorkshire in the last few months include extending a Pickering holiday park by 127 static caravans and a 78-lodge scheme in Filey.
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