A second call to keep a ‘funky’ holiday lodge in woods near a Pembrokeshire village, previously turned down partly over a dispute on what constitutes a caravan, has been refused again.
In an application refused by Pembrokeshire County Council planners in June, Greg Baker, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, sought retrospective permission for the creation of a second tourism unit with a bespoke fixed holiday lodge/hot tub with parking area at Cabin in The Woods, near Woodcocks House, Carmarthen Road, Kilgetty.
Work started on the scheme in April 2023.
A supporting statement through Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd said: “The current application presents a scheme to provide a second bespoke holiday unit on land in our client’s ownership. The application for a second holiday let unit is in response to demand for more ‘funky’ holiday accommodation in Pembrokeshire and the popularity of the Kilgetty area, it being central to many visitor attractions in the county.”
It said a previous 1998 application, Woodberry Cottage, has operated as a holiday let for a number of years, adding: “This remains the case and as such, the proposal is still intended to extend and complement the existing holiday letting business on the site.”
The application was refused by county planners on the grounds the scheme “is for self-catering accommodation in the form of a cabin, on the basis of information submitted with the application, this is considered to be a caravan rather than built development, as there is no robust information to demonstrate that it is permanently fixed to the ground”.
It was also refused on the grounds of being in a countryside location outside of any defined settlement boundary.
Since then, a fresh application aimed at addressing the reasons for refusal was submitted, saying works had been carried out making the lodge a fixed structure.
“Our clients have provided further information to support the claim that the holiday lodge is indeed fixed to the ground and not moveable and with the fixed decking it also clearly goes over the maximum size of a caravan,” the statement said.
It also said the development was an extension to an existing holiday business rather than one in the open countryside.
An officer report, recommending refusal, said the authority was “of the opinion that the chassis on which the cabin is built is still only bolted to the timber plates attached to the metal poles and therefore could potentially be unbolted to enable the removal of the cabin.”
It was again refused on the basis it “is considered to be a caravan rather than built development, as there is no robust information to demonstrate that it is permanently fixed to the ground,” and “The application site is located in a countryside location outside of any defined settlement boundary.”
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