Appeal lodged over bid to turn 20 holiday lodges into homes in the Harborough district village

Plans to turn holiday lodges into residential homes were rejected sby planning officers.

An appeal has been lodged after Harborough District Council (HDC) rejected plans to turn 20 holiday lodges into homes.

The scheme, for the lodges in Medbourne, was refused by planning officers in December last year.

Applicant Tom Hartley Park Homes submitted proposals for the lodges at Medbourne Edge, Hallaton Road, in October. He claimed the change of use request to convert the lodges to normal homes was due to a lack of interest in the lodges.

He claimed “extensive marketing both locally and nationally” had yet to attract any buyers and that the 20 lodges had “failed to sell”. However, the plan attracted concerns from Medbourne Parish Council which believed that while rural tourism lodges could be supported, new isolated homes could not.

Concerns about the remote location of the lodges was also raised by the parish council as it believed it was not a safe walking distance from the Leicestershire village. It also claimed “there are not the services and infrastructure that would be required to support the permanent residents of these homes”.

In making its decision, HDC said the proposal would represent “unsustainable open market housing development in the open countryside”, and would result in the loss of tourism accommodation. It said the proposal would have a negative effect on the landscape and would harm local wildlife.

HDC also said the plans would impair quality of life for people in the area. Officers added the proposal did not help towards future costs of things like infrastructure and affordable housing.

In the newly-launched appeal, Tom Hartley Park Homes said the proposals involve the removal of a condition which prevents the lodges from being occupied as sole or primary homes. The applicant said the removal of the condition would not result in an increase in the number of homes on the site and would involve “no material change in how the units are sold or occupied”.

Those wishing to comment on the plans or attend the hearing needs to do so by Tuesday, March 12. Letters should be sent to the Planning Inspectorate, Room 3/09, Temple Quay House, 2, The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN quoting appeal reference APP/F2415/W/24/3357486.