Leisure Resorts Ltd has applied to North Yorkshire Council to expand its Angrove Country Park, located between Stokesley and Great Ayton, by adding 35 lodges to the existing 54. If approved, the total number of units on the site would rise to 89.
The proposal seeks to amend conditions attached to a previous planning permission granted in 2017, with all new lodges situated within the current park boundaries.
According to supporting documents, the expansion would result in at least five additional staff positions, alongside growth in existing roles.
Council officials have noted that the application is partly retrospective, as some installation work on the lodges has already begun.
According to the Darlington & Stockton Times, the Richmond Area Planning Committee will review the application on Thursday, September 11, with planning officer Ian Nesbit recommending approval. In his report, Nesbit acknowledged that the project would affect certain views of the surrounding landscape.
“This adverse impact is afforded minor negative weight in the planning balance having taken into consideration the screening effects of the landscaping scheme,” he wrote.
He added that “the moderate positive benefits of the proposed development to the local economy would outweigh the minor localised harm to specific local views of the development.”
Despite this recommendation, Great Ayton Parish Council has formally objected to the proposal, describing it as “overdevelopment” and stating that the expansion is not appropriate for the area.
Two local residents also submitted objections, citing concerns about potential year-round occupancy of the lodges and suggesting the expansion should have been filed as a new application rather than an amendment.
The planning report also notes that some existing lodge owners at the park expressed concerns about how additional lodges could alter the character of the site. Nesbit, however, concluded that such concerns were a matter between lodge owners and operators and not a material planning consideration.
For holiday park operators and developers, the case highlights the balance councils consider between economic benefits, landscape impact, and community opposition.
Expansions such as this can create jobs and drive local economic activity, but they also raise questions around density, planning procedure, and maintaining a park’s character—issues relevant to operators evaluating growth strategies in similar markets.