Plans to relocate 47 caravan pitches to a site near the seaside town of New Quay in Ceredigion, Wales, have been temporarily delayed after the application was withdrawn from consideration at a recent planning committee meeting.
The proposal, submitted by Vale Holiday Parks Ltd through agent Geraint John Planning Ltd, was scheduled to be considered at the March meeting of Ceredigion County Council’s development management committee.
However, members were informed during the meeting that the application had been removed from the agenda after additional information was circulated to committee members, after the official agenda had already been published.
The application seeks permission to relocate 17 caravans from Wern Mill Caravan Park in Gilfachrheda and 30 caravans from The Village Holiday Park in Cross Inn to Ocean Heights Holiday Parks in Maenygroes.
The site is located about 1.6 miles from New Quay along the A486. According to a supporting planning statement submitted with the application, the relocation would consolidate the pitches at Ocean Heights and “would form a natural extension to the existing Ocean Heights Park.”
The 17 caravans proposed to be moved from Wern Mill are currently located about 2.5 miles from the proposed destination site, while the 30 caravans from Village Holiday Park are approximately 0.7 miles away.
The proposal had been recommended for refusal by planning officers prior to the committee meeting. In their report, officers raised concerns about the site’s location and its alignment with national and local planning policy.
The report stated: “The site is not considered to function as a sustainable location, due to its limited active travel connectivity, lack of local services, and continued reliance on private car travel. As a result, the proposal does not align with the sustainable transport and placemaking principles required under national and local policy.”
According to the Tivy-Side Advertiser, officers also questioned whether the proposal met policy criteria related to rural development and tourism.
The report said the application had not “demonstrated that the development is small scale or meets a specific local need, nor does it accord with the rural enterprise provisions of TAN 6,” adding that the proposal “would increase the number of static caravans within the coastal area and would not result in any significant and permanent visual improvement to Wern Mill.”
The planning assessment further noted potential impacts on the surrounding landscape and nearby communities. It stated: “Only limited visual benefit would arise at the Village Holiday Park, while clear landscape harm would occur at Ocean Heights, and the proposal is also likely to have some negative effect on the facilities within Cross Inn.”
The report continued: “The proposal represents a significant expansion of the existing holiday park onto undeveloped greenfield land at the rural edge of Maen-y-Groes, a settlement with no services and limited active travel connections. This would erode the existing greenfield buffer and materially alter the rural character of the settlement.”
Officers also highlighted concerns related to agricultural land use and the cumulative impact of development in the coastal area. The report concluded that the project would lead to the loss of Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land and that this loss “has also not been justified by any overriding need.”
Local response to the application has been mixed. New Quay Town Council did not formally discuss the proposal because the council was not quorate after several members declared an interest.
However, Llanllwchaearn Community Council has expressed opposition to the project, citing concerns that it “would double the area of the site” and referencing strong objections from residents of Maen-y-groes.
Public comments submitted through the council’s planning portal have also raised issues, including road safety, potential strain on wastewater infrastructure, the impact on nearby residents, and claims that the proposal would represent a “massive overdevelopment.”
At the development management committee meeting, Ceredigion’s Head of Planning, Russell Hughes-Pickering, informed members that the item had been withdrawn due to the additional information submitted after the agenda was finalized. The application is expected to return to a future committee meeting for further consideration.
For operators and investors in the outdoor hospitality sector, the case highlights the growing importance of site sustainability, infrastructure capacity, and landscape impact in planning decisions involving holiday parks and caravan developments.
Relocation or consolidation proposals, even when involving existing inventory, can face scrutiny if they result in the expansion of sites into undeveloped land or raise questions about transportation access and rural planning policies.
As more destinations balance tourism growth with environmental and community concerns, operators may increasingly need to demonstrate clear planning policy alignment and local benefits when seeking approvals for site expansions or relocations.