Plans for 42 extra caravan pitches at the Golden Sands Holiday Park in Dawlish Warren have been rejected by Teignbridge councillors.

The district council's planning committee refused the scheme that would have seen the caravans sited on land currently used for recreation at the holiday park.

Officers had recommended approval of the plans, which would have involved relocating the existing children's play area and associated equipment onto adjoining land.

But on Tuesday morning (January 19), councillors voted by 11 votes to five to reject the application. They saw it as overdevelopment and also had concerns about drainage.

What councillors thought of the plan

Cllr Martin Wrigley said while the site is used for camping in the summer, placing the caravans on the land 'would change the nature of it'.

He added: "It is overdevelopment and 42 caravans on the site is too much. A smaller scheme may be acceptable but this will make the local residents' lives a misery."

Cllr Linda Goodman-Bradbury added: "I understand the business case for Golden Sands and the addition to the economy, but I do share the concerns of the residents, and with the size of the site and the amount of caravans, I do have concern with the quality of the holiday people will have, as there are too many and they are packed in."

Planning officers, in recommending approval, had said that significant weight should be given to the in-principle support that the Local Plan provides to extensions to holiday parks, and the importance to the tourism economy.

They added that subject to a Section 106 agreement to secure the required Habitat Regulations Contribution, as well as the conditions as set out above including the pre-commencement surface water drainage condition, the benefits of the proposed development are considered to outweigh the impacts.

But proposing refusal, Cllr Andrew McGregor said that as well as overdevelopment, the site falls within the Dawlish Critical Drainage Area, as defined by the Environment Agency, which means that this catchment needs to be protected from development pressures.