Objections to holiday lodges near castle ruins

The developer behind the scheme said the idea would create a "high-quality tourism site"

Plans to build 24 holiday lodges close to the site of ancient North Yorkshire ruins could create an "eyesore", residents fear.

The proposals would see a group of two and three-bedroom lodges built on farmland close to Sherriff Hutton Castle, around 10 miles north of York.

The castle's remains date back to the 14th Century and are Grade II listed.

The developer behind the plans said his aim is to create a "high-quality tourism site", but objectors have insisted the scheme is "unwanted".

A North Yorkshire Council planning committee is due to decide on the application on Thursday, with local authority officers suggesting they be approved, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The application, put forward by developer John Wilson, said: "The rationale for the proposed holiday lodges is for providing additional, more luxury facilities at the site to meet the demands of this thriving local business.

"Small local businesses such as this need to move and react to demand in order to preserve financial buoyancy."

But some residents and the local parish council have criticised the scheme as a "gross misuse" of the land and "overdevelopment".

One objector said: "Not only would this development be a prominently positioned eyesore dominating that skyline and view from the north, but also extremely damaging to the nature of the village by virtue of its scale and proximity."

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