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Residents fight Caravan Club plan for 96-caravan site (From Gazette)
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Residents fight Caravan Club plan for 96-caravan site
10:20am Wednesday 28th July 2010
A CARAVAN site with 96 pitches will threaten wildlife and make roads dangerous, villagers fear.
Residents in Ardleigh have vowed to fight the Caravan Club’s plans for a £2million park in Wick Lane, next to Ardleigh Reservoir.
Parish council chairman Tim Barrott urged them to hire a barrister to oppose the application.
More than 40 people attended a heated two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Tony Barnet, the club’s head of estates, at the Village Hall, to voice their objections.
Christopher Tootle, of Wick Lane, said: “Three or four caravans together become an eyesore. This is a local beauty spot and this development will be a blight on the countryside.”
Residents claimed the narrow lanes would put caravanners at risk and create dangerous driving conditions.
Mr Barrott said: “The tight corners can be perilous. I know many people who have been killed on the Dedham road junction.”
Jill Hamblin, of The Street, said: “I’m sure your caravans are lovely, but it’s not right for Ardleigh.”
Another resident added: “We get skylarks and wild geese, and I’ve seen foxes run across this very land you’re proposing to build on. We don’t want this.”
Mr Barnet said the club would put up signs to improve safety and work with the highway agencies to ensure entrance to the site was safe, which prompted ironic laughter from residents.
He said the development would bring money from tourism to the village, and the club would plant trees and encourage wildlife.
Mr Barnet continued: “Ardleigh is a pleasant village with pleasant people. I urge you to go along to some of our other sites.
“It will benefit the community by bringing in custom to the local shops, pubs and you’ll see swollen church congregations.
“We are in this for the long haul.”
After the meeting, Mr Barrott explained how residents could fight the application, handing out template letters and suggesting they hire a barrister to represent them at the planning committee.
Residents have until August 18 to submit their objections.
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Your Say YourColchester
froggie, colchester says...
10:59am Wed 28 Jul 10
In addition the sites are kept immaculately and the commercial benefits to the local area are considerable.
I appreciate that the thought of a caravan site conjures up the idea of rows of caravans cheek by jowl like those at seaside sites but Club sites are as far removed from this as can be.
Say It As It Is OK?, From Colchester says...
11:02am Wed 28 Jul 10
CBC totally ignored planning recommendations designed to make Boxted Road safe, when the stadium was built.
Now, we are going into the Third season at Cuckoo Farm and all they do is close Boxted Road on match days. Why? yes you've guessed it! because the road is deemed unsafe for pedestrians because it lacks an adequate footpath and has no Street Lighting!
The consequence is residents are denied access to their homes and supporters using the shuttle buses are unnecessarily delayed when the road is closed.
And still the authorities refuse to put matters right!
Boris, Colchester says...
2:40pm Wed 28 Jul 10
Well, I expect most of us have seen foxes everywhere, even in the middle of Colchester. They are as common as rats. The good people of Ardleigh will have to think of something a bit more special than foxes if they want to claim that caravans should not occupy that land.
In April this year I saw a hare in among all the caravans at Jaywick. Wild animals seem to get along all right with caravans if people leave them alone.
Sdapeze, sdapeze@aol.com says...
4:26pm Wed 28 Jul 10
gavin, colchester says...
5:40pm Wed 28 Jul 10
I believe that club is a non-profit making organisation run by its members so there is no commercial pressure to maximise profit by cutting corners and squeezing in as many caravans as possible.
Checkout, Colchester says...
11:31am Thu 29 Jul 10
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Red Tape, Colchester says...
10:27am Wed 28 Jul 10