Cheshire East Council has approved plans to add 20 touring pitches for caravans at Coole Acres Fishery and Leisure Park near Nantwich, expanding the accommodation capacity of an established fishing and leisure business.
The site is located on Coole Lane at Newhall and forms part of an existing fishery and angling center. Over time, the property has developed into a broader leisure operation that includes fishing lakes, hatchery pools, a café and reception building, and a hatchery storage and maintenance building.
The approved development will add 20 touring pitches to the site’s existing licensed caravan and camping provision. The application also includes an amenity block and associated works to support the additional pitches.
Coole Acres already accommodates holiday lodges and has infrastructure including access tracks, parking areas and service areas. The new touring pitches will therefore expand an existing accommodation and recreation operation rather than establish a new use on undeveloped land.
The planning officer’s report addressed the site’s location within open countryside, stating: “As this proposal seeks to expand the existing enterprise within the existing fishery, it is considered that the location of the proposal justifies this open countryside location rather than relocating the existing enterprise, and the use is clearly intrinsically linked with the countryside and the wider enterprise.”
According to the Knutsford Guardian, planning permission was granted by council planning officers under delegated powers. The decision provides the operator with approval to increase its touring capacity while continuing to operate within the wider fishery and leisure site.
For campground and caravan park operators, the decision illustrates how the relationship between an accommodation proposal and an established rural enterprise can factor into planning considerations.
Rather than treating the touring pitches as an entirely separate development, the council’s assessment linked the proposal to the site’s existing fishery operations and the services already established there.
The inclusion of an amenity block also highlights the infrastructure considerations that can accompany additional touring capacity. As operators expand pitch numbers, supporting facilities such as sanitation, access and service areas can become an important part of both the planning case and the site’s ability to accommodate additional guests.
The approval gives Coole Acres an opportunity to increase its touring accommodation within an existing leisure operation, adding capacity without changing the site’s broader role as a fishery and angling center.