Plans to build a glamping site in a village near Mold (Wales, United Kingdom) were rejected due to concerns about its impact on river pollution levels.
According to a report, a proposal was submitted by the owners of Blaenau Farm in Treuddyn to change the use of agricultural land off Ffordd Y Blaenau.
The proposal would feature five glamping pods and one shepherd’s hut to be built on the site.
The applicants stated that their goal is to expand their business by offering accommodation to holidaymakers.
However, representatives from Flintshire Council have rejected the plans since the land is located within the River Dee special area of conservation.
This comes after Natural Resources Wales (NRW) expressed concern over the absence of information regarding the measures to prevent phosphates from entering the river’s catchment zone.
In a report, planning officer Barbara Kinnear said that NRW had requested additional information on the measures proposed to limit/prohibit any increase in phosphates entering the catchment.
“The method of foul drainage was confirmed, but matters with regards to what measures are to be taken to limit the amount of phosphates and how it will be monitored are still outstanding, with limited details prohibiting NRW from being able to consider the proposal further,” Kinnear said.
Kinnear also added that there had been no ecological appraisal submitted in support of the application to confirm that environmental impacts could be avoided and mitigated, and the current layout means there would be a loss of biodiversity habitat to the Blaenau wildlife site designation.
As such, the proposal is considered to be contrary to policies of the Flintshire unitary development plan, and a recommendation of refusal is appropriate in this instance.
This story originally appeared on Nation.Cymru.