THE company behind a scheme to build a caravan park in fields on the edge of Tavistock is to appeal, following West Devon planners' refusal to grant consent last week.
The plan for 52 caravans on land to the north east of Butcher Park Hill and Redmoor Close was turned down on the grounds of lack of need, visual impact and highway safety.
Planning officers had recommended the scheme by 3H Investments Ltd for refusal, saying there was adequate provision of static caravan sites locally and the proposal would constitute unnecessary development in the open countryside.
They also felt that street lighting would be detrimental to the rural character of the area.
Some 73 letters against the proposal were submitted to West Devon Borough Council and five in support. There were concerns about the traffic increase and point of access, the prominent location which would mean it being visible from a wide area and the security of nearby allotments.
The site is currently agricultural land and comprises four fields with a total area of 5.67 hectares.
The applicants had planned to include a car park, administrative building and associated infrastructure works, including works to the access, road layouts and landscaping. They said the development would create 15 full-time jobs and claimed it would bring more than £1-million annually into the economy.
The planning committee considered a revised application by 3H Investments which addressed some of the concerns raised by County Highways.
It included installing a roadside footpath linking the site with an existing footpath on Butcher Park Hill and the extension of low level lighting up the hill, automatically reducing the speed limit to 30mph.
But members of the planning committee were not in favour of the footpath — they felt it would narrow the highway to an 'unacceptable' level in respect of vehicular and pedestrian safety.
Owner of 3H Investments Ian Strudwick said an independent report commissioned by the company identified a significant need for this kind of holiday development which he said would bring a large financial benefit to the West Devon tourist economy.
He said: 'The council did not agree with this but it has not produced the evidence to back it up. We have also done exactly what the highways officer asked.
'The committee's decision is a complete farce and we will be taking this to appeal.'
Cllr Mandy Govier said if the footpath was installed it would mean two lorries could not pass each other and this would make the road unsafe.
She said: 'It would have made the road so narrow. We were also concerned about the urbanising effect of the proposal. Although the amount of street lighting had been reduced from the original application it would still be visually intrusive and extend the urbanisation into the rural countryside.'