New holiday park with over 100 chalets approved in County Durham

Bill Edgar

17 June 2024 at 11:04 am·2-min read

The proposed site in West Auckland — -Credit: (Image: Copyright Unknown)

Durham County Council has given the green light for a new holiday park on the outskirts of West Auckland. The premises will be situated on the Acrum Lodge land, where over a hundred tourist chalets and numerous caravan pitches are to be constructed.

The plans, which were approved by Durham County Council, outline proposals for 104 holiday chalets and 63 touring caravan pitches. The site will also house a new amenity building complete with a reception, cafe, and shop.

County councillors have been vocal about the potential boost this development could give to County Durham's tourism sector.

The chosen location is currently used as grazing land for Acrum equestrian stud farm. It lies to the west of the A668 and south-west of West Auckland.

However, the proposal was met with some opposition - seven letters of objection were submitted by local residents, primarily raising concerns about existing traffic issues and safety in the West Auckland and Tindale area. Many felt that the proposed development would only serve to aggravate these problems.

In particular, worry was expressed about the planned entrance to the holiday park, as it's located on a particularly busy and accident-prone stretch of road.

Councillor David Boyes disagreed, pointing out recent safety improvements on the same road during a planning meeting, stating: "We've done a lot of work over the years to make this road a lot safer, and I know we had problems with people coming into the county on motorbikes having accidents. The amount of serious accidents and fatalities has dropped in recent years."

The site is set to be open throughout the year, but won't accommodate full-time residents. It's expected to create around 167 jobs.

Peter Seagrave, the applicant, projected that the new site and its visitors could contribute up to £6 million annually to the local economy.

He stated: "Ten years ago, it would have seemed less likely that a larger scale scheme for chalet and touring park of this scale would have come forward in West Auckland, and yet there is little doubt the market now exists."

"It is developments of this type that make a huge difference to a local economy. The development of this site will increase tourism spending locally and across County Durham and lead to a significant increase in employment."

Visit County Durham also supported the plans, stating the site will help address the shortage of visitor accommodation in the region.

Councillor Jim Atkinson moved to approve the plans, saying: "This is the type of application I like to see. The benefits outweigh any harm being considered, and the benefits to the economy look good. All of these things have the right vibrations for me."

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