Plans for 140-lodge holiday park near Lanchester delayed

The proposal for the Greencroft Estate, near Lanchester, also includes a spa, swimming pool, fitness studios and a shop. 

True North, the applicant, said it would help bridge the “clear and evident” shortage of tourist accommodation in County Durham, with wider benefits for the local community. 

“This is a genuinely exciting proposal,” said Michell Robinson, speaking at Tuesday’s planning committee meeting. 

She added:  “It is an opportunity to secure the future of a remarkable but declining historic estate, unlock significant tourism and economic potential, and deliver long-lasting public benefits for County Durham. 

It is hoped the proposal will help boost tourism in County Durham. (Image: True North)

“This is a rare opportunity to restore a previously private, historic estate which has fallen into disrepair.”

The scheme was also praised by Reform county councillors and local ward members Darren Grimes and Karen Allison, who said the proposal would be “immense for the area”, while boosting the local tourism economy.

Cllr Grimes added: “This is a part of Durham that seems to lose more than it gains. Annfield Plain could benefit greatly from greater opportunity.”

But Durham County Council’s planning department said a badger survey is required before the committee can make a decision. 

“Insufficient information has been provided to demonstrate in relation to badgers that the proposed scheme will not have a likely adverse impact on the ability of the species to survive, reproduce and maintain,” a planning report added. 

Committee members had been recommended to refuse the application due to the missing survey.  

The proposal also faced opposition from several organisations, including Lanchester Parish Council and North Durham’s MP, Luke Akehurst. 

David Smith, a parish councillor, told the committee that “local opinion is overwhelmingly against this development” and that the proposed holiday park is not appropriate for the area, adding that it would cause “considerable harm to the setting, character, and value of the landscape.”

Plans for the development were first submitted in September 2024, but moving refusal, Liberal Democrat Cllr Mark Wilkes said he was “really disappointed” that the applicant had not provided key information on protected species. 

Cllr David Freeman, who also voted down the proposal,  said True North had “failed abysmally” and warned that deferring the application could delay it for several months. 

But other committee members were confident that the scheme would be resolved once the appropriate information was provided. 

Cllr James Stephenson, Reform member for Shildon and Dene Valley, said: “Landscape harm is minimal and tourism accommodation and jobs are desperately needed in the area. Unfortunately, without the badger survey, we can’t approve this.”

Speaking after the meeting, Harry Humble from True North welcomed the committee's support of the scheme but said it had carried out the relevant surveys. 

He added: “We are very encouraged by the response from members of the planning committee to the concept of the scheme and the cross party support received in the debate.

“We are puzzled by the planning department’s approach and insistence that they want  further badger survey work to be carried out, after a full and comprehensive badger survey has already been conducted.  We have also fully committed to a badger mitigation plan which would be integrated into the programme’s detailed designs. 

“We are minded to work constructively with the planning officers to resolve their outstanding concerns and build on the clear support received from the committee members. We hope to resolve these issues as quickly as possible to allow us to deliver the scheme.”