Plans for caravan park on medieval site refused

The fort on the banks of the Humber Estuary had opened as a museum in 2000

Plans to turn a medieval fortress in East Yorkshire into a caravan park have been refused.

On Monday, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Planning Committee voted to reject plans to convert Fort Paull into a 64-pitch site.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said visitors could disturb animals and birds at Paull Holme Strays nature reserve.

Fort Paull, a gun battery and fort established by Henry VIII, was a military museum until its closure in January 2020.

Fort owner Brian Rushworth said he put the proposal forward after "desperately trying" to find an alternative use for the site.

He said: "I lost my wife who ran the fort with me and the museum staff are all ageing, so it’s unable to carry on as a museum.

"We think this concept of a holiday park would be less damaging to the environment around the fort, it’s the best way to preserve it for future generations."

'Deserves better'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the plans for the caravan park proposed keeping parts of the site open to the public.

But four people objected to the plans, along with Paull Parish Council, which claimed sheer drops within its boundary posed a safety risk.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council planning committee member Cllr Denis Healy said better uses for the site than a caravan park was another concern.

The councillor said: “This is a historic heritage asset dating back to Tudor times.

“This is a site that’s seen historical events take place, it deserves better than this.”

The owner of the fort said the caravan park proposal would have preserved the site for future generations

Fortifications at the site were first built in 1542 during Henry VIII’s reign and additions were made under the rule of Charles I during the English Civil War.

It stored ammunition during the Second World War and supplies for shipping to the Soviet Union.

The Ministry of Defence sold the site in 1960 and the Friends of Fort Paull group took it on four years later and restored it for the public.

It opened as a museum in 2000, looking at the past 500 years of conflict, complete with exhibits and aircraft displays.

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