Plans to diversify a National Trust campsite on the Pembrokeshire coast with seasonal accommodations for camper vans and landpods have been approved.
The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park’s development management committee authorized the application for Gupton Farm near Freshwater West.
The 4.5-hectare site currently operates under a National Trust exemption certificate with a 10-year permission for five camper vans and 45 tents, according to an article by Herald Wales.
According to a planning officer report, “The proposal seeks to formalise and diversify the existing operation by allowing greater flexibility in accommodation type and pitch management whilst maintaining the existing overall site capacity of a maximum of 100 people and 50 pitches per night.”
The application allows for the seasonal siting of five landpods and 20 camper vans. The report noted, “The submitted information confirms that the proposal does not seek to increase overall occupancy levels at the site but instead proposes a redistribution of accommodation types through increased campervan provision and the introduction of seasonal landpods.”
These new landpods are planned as free-standing structures without permanent utility connections.
The report stated they “are proposed as free-standing seasonal structures with no permanent drainage or utility connections and would be removed from the site during December, January and February.”
The project represents a departure from the adopted Local Development Plan 2. Planners noted an original pre-application conflicted with policies “due to the scale and sensitivity of the site location” and “due to the sensitive coastal landscape location.”
However, officers advised there was scope for “a reduced-scale, clearly seasonal proposal where robust landscape mitigation, ecological enhancement and visitor management justification could be demonstrated.”
The submitted application addressed these concerns, incorporating “significant landscape and biodiversity enhancement measures.”
Officers evaluated the modified application and determined “that the seasonal nature of the proposal, the established exempted camping use, the absence of any increase in overall site capacity, the landscape-led design approach and the significant biodiversity and visitor management benefits weigh in favour of the proposal”.
Planners noted the project is “specifically designed as a seasonal and reversible form of development, with the Landpods removed from the site outside the operational season and stored within an existing onsite barn.”
The planning report concluded, “On balance, it is considered that the proposal would not result in unacceptable harm to the special qualities of the National Park and that the material considerations in favour of the proposal outweigh the identified policy tensions in this instance.
The principle of the development is therefore considered acceptable subject to appropriate planning conditions.”
Madeleine Havard, chair of the authority, supported the seasonal approach and the addition of formal overnight pitches for camper vans in the region.
Havard said, “No overall increase [in pitch numbers] is quite important; critical for me is this is seasonal, therefore we are able to ensure the pods are able to be taken away.”
Speaking on the local impact, Havard added, “The possibility it might be able to help the situation in the area regarding campervans as well, I think it’s also very positive.” The development management committee ultimately approved the application with 15 votes in favor and one abstention.
This approval highlights the regulatory viability of diversifying accommodation types without expanding overall site capacity.