Sex-noise problem closes glamping site in Lymington
- Published
New Forest District Council rejected an application for a glamping site in the garden of a house in Shrubbs Avenue
A glamping site has been refused planning permission after residents reported "awkwardly" listening to couples having sex in tents.
Secret Garden Glamping in Lymington applied for permission retrospectively to continue running the site.
New Forest District Council rejected the application for two 5m tents in the garden of a semi-detached house in Shrubbs Avenue.
Neighbours reported hearing "acts of a sexual nature on several occasions".
Comments from locals on the planning application said during the summer, the noises coming from the garden after midnight were "too much".
One resident wrote: "There is music, loud chat, sex in the thin tents we all awkwardly hear and swearing."
Another said the noise was "most upsetting", adding: "On several occasions we have had to close the window to block out the sound of a couple engaging in acts of a sexual nature, which the fabric walls of a tent clearly did not, and do not contain."
Liz Feay applied to set up two five-metre glamping tents in her garden
The Secret Glamping Lymington website, external advertises the experience as "perfect for romantic escapes and family adventures".
Applicant Liz Feay submitted plans to the local authority to continue running the site between May and September.
She said she had been running the site for five years and during that time received no complaints from nearby residents, until she hosted a birthday party in her garden in May 2023.
'Sex noise problem'
Ms Feay explained: "Since then, every sound my family or my glamping guests make in the garden is recorded and reported to Environmental Health.
"We certainly do not have a sex-noise problem."
She said the complaints felt like a "vexatious attack" by her neighbours and it had "led to complete misrepresentation of my business, invasion of my privacy, damage to my reputation, and refusal of my planning application".
Council planning manager David Norris said: "The proposed use of the site for 'glamping' would result in a material intensification in the use of a quiet rear garden area, which would result in a level of noise and disturbance that would significantly exceed what would typically be expected within a predominantly residential area.
"As such, the proposal would be harmful to the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers."
He added that it would "increase recreational pressures" on "sensitive European nature conservation sites" including the impact on air quality.
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