Plans to extend holiday park near Llanfair Caereinion approved

Deborah Williams of Unwind Leisure Ltd had applied to Powys County Council for planning permission to build a further 25 holiday lodges at Oakwood Valley Lodges, which is off the B4385 road between Llanfair Caereinion and Castle Caereinion.

The proposal will take the number of lodges at the site up to 89.

Powys County Council planning officer Gwyn Humphreys said in his report on the plans that there was no need for a “Welsh Language Action Plan” as the development is for holiday accommodation.

This is despite the Llanfair Caereinion area being a “Welsh speaking stronghold” in Powys.

Also, Mr Humphreys said that a requirement for open space and play facilities to be provided for a part of the development were not needed, as it only applies to “residential housing developments of 10 units or greater not holiday accommodation.”

Mr Humphreys said: “It is considered that the proposed development fundamentally complies with relevant planning policy and the recommendation is therefore one of conditional consent."

In a planning statement, agent Philippa Davey of Savills UK Ltd said that Unwind Leisure Limited, trading as Williams Leisure Group, had bought the park in 2019 as an addition to their portfolio of high-quality holiday caravan parks located in Wales, Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Cornwall.

Ms Davey said that the park accommodates 64 holiday lodges and three chalets across a site area of 7.25 hectares .

Ms Davey explained that the lodges are all privately owned and are subject to an 11-month holiday season which sees the site closed during February.

Ms Davey said: “The park is ideally placed for exploring the wider area, being in close proximity to various towns in the area that are popular with visitors, such as Welshpool and Newtown.

“The small town of Llanfair Caereinion is located approximately 1.8km away offering various shops, services and amenities, and providing regular bus services to Welshpool and Oswestry.

“The expansion of this park will have positive financial impacts on the local economy both directly and indirectly."

A further sustainable drainage application will need to be approved before work on the scheme can start.