A caravan park in England’s Lake District has been refused permission to establish a lawful use allowing up to 46 caravan units, after the Lake District National Park Authority determined that the site’s existing planning permissions could not be combined to support the higher number.
The application for Greenhowe Caravan Park in Great Langdale, Ambleside, was submitted by Graham Holden in March. It sought a Certificate of Lawful Use for the operation of the site as a caravan park accommodating up to 46 units. The Lake District National Park Authority refused the certificate on August 24.
Planning officers reviewed the site’s planning history as part of the application and identified several permissions and conditions governing the number and location of caravans at Greenhowe.
One earlier consent for the caravan site included a condition stating that no more than 42 caravans could be stationed across the site at any one time. The site has also received temporary permissions allowing year-round occupation to support the business’s recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those permissions was due to expire on November 17, 2023.
The latest application was based on the argument that several previous planning permissions for individual static caravans had been implemented. The applicant argued that the permissions could therefore be added together, resulting in a total of 46 caravan pitches.
According to the Westmorland Gazette, the planning authority disagreed, finding that the separate permissions could not be combined to create a use that had not previously been approved.
In a delegated planning report, a case planner stated: “I consider that the applicant’s argument is flawed.
“It is possible to have more than one valid permission on a single site, but only one of those permissions can be utilised at any one time.
“In this case, all the permissions are effectively for the use of land as a caravan site (although the development description may be phrased differently).
“Aspects of the development are controlled by condition, including the location of pitches.
“One cannot simply pick and choose from the various permissions to create a development for the site as a whole which has never been applied for, particularly when, as in this case, the conditions on the various permissions would contradict one another.”
According to the planning report, the most relevant permission is the site’s more recent full planning permission allowing year-round caravan occupation. The officer described this as a “new chapter” in the site’s planning history, “superseding all previous permissions”.
That permission’s temporary year-round occupancy provision has since lapsed. Under the applicable conditions, caravans can now be occupied from March 1 through November 17 each year.
The approved site plan associated with the relevant permission identifies 38 pitches, comprising 33 static caravans and five lodges. The authority therefore concluded that the evidence did not establish a lawful basis for operating the site with 46 caravan units.
The decision illustrates an important consideration for operators reviewing historic planning consents: multiple permissions relating to individual units do not necessarily provide a basis for combining those permissions into a larger overall site capacity. Existing conditions, approved site plans, and the relationship between successive permissions can determine which development rights remain applicable.
For operators considering expansion or changes to pitch numbers, the decision also highlights the importance of establishing the current operative planning permission before relying on historic consents when assessing a site’s capacity.
