Plans for year-round use of caravan park rejected

Westmorland and Furness Council heard the proposal could impact bird colonies

Plans to allow year-round use of a caravan park have been turned down among fears bird colonies would be affected.

South End Caravan Park in Walney applied to Westmorland and Furness Council for permission to stay open for 12 months of the year.

Members of the planning committee at the Lib Dem-led council turned down the proposal due to fears it would have an "adverse impact" on the Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary Special Protection Area (SPA), and the Morecambe Bay Ramsar site.

Applicant Simon Mulgrew told planners: "We have always had and still do have a vested interest in the natural habitat and ecology of the area because we intend to be here and keep on raising our families here for a long time to come."

Currently, the caravan park cannot be occupied from 15 January and 1 March due to planning restrictions, reports the Local Democracy Reporting service.

The council's planning officer, Andrew Willison-Holt, told Monday's meeting regulations are "incredibly stringent" as the site is located in a "very sensitive" area.

Impact on birds

A report submitted for the meeting said the loss of the closure would mean introducing a "disturbance" at a time which would otherwise be quiet.

It added: "[It] has the potential to cause displacement of birds away from current roosting sites."

This, the report said, could affect the number of birds in the SPA, as well as their distribution in the area.

In 2020, plans to allow year-round occupation of the caravan park were refused by the former Barrow Borough Council.

Documents submitted on behalf of the caravan park argued conditions to prevent residential occupation of the caravan park all year round were "unduly restrictive" and held back businesses.

They said: "The park wants to offer customers a longer holiday season so they can visit the area throughout the year, allowing it to compete for business with other caravan parks already offering a 12-month season in other areas of Cumbria."