Fitties chalet approved despite objections

Some feared another chalet would change the character and identity of Humberston Fitties, a holiday park near Cleethorpes

Permission to build a new chalet on a holiday park has been granted, despite objections from other owners on the site.

North East Lincolnshire Council approved plans for the chalet at Humberston Fitties, on the banks of the Humber Estuary near Cleethorpes.

Existing owners had fought a long campaign against 11 vacant plots being used for chalets.

In 2023, permission was refused for a chalet to be built on one of the other plots. Haverstoe councillor Bill Parkinson said objectors had feared a loss of character and identity but added that he disagreed with those claims.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the new chalet - earmarked for plot 105 on the seaward side of the Humberston Fitties Conservation Area - would be a single-storey, timber building.

The planning committee was reminded that in 1992 permission was granted to allow caravans to be put on any of the 11 vacant plots. Two of those plots are occupied.

Dr Keith Collett, one of the objectees, reminded planners of the council's near unanimous stance to refuse a chalet on another plot in March 2023.

'Mass modernisation' concerns

East March councillor Loyd Emmerson said it was a "delicate subject in a delicate area".

He said he felt the chalet was too modern and raised privacy concerns. Emmerson added he feared approval would be "opening the door to mass modernisation of this historical area".

The applicant's agent said: "It has been established previously that these are in fact vacant building plots, with previous developments documented on most of these plots."

A suggestion for a site visit was defeated. Approval for the site was granted by five votes to four.

Under terms set out by the council, the chalet must not be occupied during the winter. It must also be removed from the site on or before 8 August 2035.

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