Parish Council Response to Camp Site prior approval notification
Villagers may be interested to know that Walberswick Parish Council has submitted the following response to East Suffolk District Council re. The prior approval permission for the proposed camp site. Objections from villagers can be posted on the East Suffolk planning website or emailed to: planning@eastsuffolk.gov-uk and the Parish Council is happy for any of the points made below to also be made by villagers if they wish to.
Note: Any objections must be sent before close of play on 23rd May.
Walberswick Parish Council would like to object, in the strongest terms, to the proposed application for prior approval permission related to case number: DC/25/1755/P4BC
The objections are based on the grounds of public safety, vehicular access, health and safety, impact on the environment, amenity and flood risk.
1.Public Safety and Vehicular Access: Despite the statements in the application, the site is poorly located for the purpose of creating a recreational camping ground. First, it is incorrect for the applicant to state that there is "existing vehicular access". Rather, the site can only be accessed by a restricted byway on an unmade track which is the heavily used footpath that connects the centre of the Village (including the Village Hall, Tea Shop, Pub and shops on the Green) to the Walberswick beach. As a restricted byway, cars should not be allowed access, although permitted access is given on a very limited basis for a small number of cars that park long-term at the small seasonal caravan site and the other temporary tent campsite (17 pitches) that park in the area where the proposed 50 pitch campsite is proposed. It is inconceivable to allow any additional vehicular access down a footpath during exactly those months that thousands of families use this to access the beach and thousands of walkers use this to access the Village.
Moreover, this unmade track ends where the Village's Jubilee Green, the Village Hall and a separate gravel track to the Cliff Field Parking area all meet. As that track to the Cliff Field parking area is a narrow track suitable for only a single vehicle, it is common for cars to back up down past the Village Hall, blocking any vehicular access to the restricted byway. If a camping site were permitted down that restricted byway, the traffic safety issues which already exist at busy times would become monumental with extreme danger to pedestrians (especially children and people with limited mobility) and with the high probability of creating a gridlock situation where cars would be unable to exit or enter the Cliff Field Car Park. This would have a very negative impact on the ability of day visitors to come to Walberswick.
There is no public overnight parking anywhere in Walberswick so even if the campers were to walk everything into the proposed campsite, there would be no where to accommodate the associated cars. Should the campers decide to park illegally overnight in the beachside Cliff Field Parking Area, police may be called out nightly for trespassing violations.
For these public safety and vehicular access reasons alone, allowing an additional camping site in that area cannot be accepted.
2.Health and Safety Concerns:
Toilet facilities: The application allows for putting in chemical toilets to accommodate the 50 pitches. However, this site already hosts 4 portable chemical toilets placed on it to serve the existing 17 pitches for tent camping used on an adjacent area for up to 42 days over the summer holidays. Therefore, this application would require at least another 8 chemical toilets (for 50 pitches) in the same site (for a total of 12 portable toilets) which would create an over-crowded, unsanitary and unpleasant visual and olfactory situation not only for the campers, but for the thousands of walkers who pass the site, for the neighbouring homes and the existing caravan park users. Moreover, as mentioned above, this large number of chemical toilets would require servicing by more vehicles adding additional traffic to the restricted by-way, creating an ever more hazardous road situation for all concerned.
Refuse disposal: As with the toilets, the application claims that there are already refuse bin collection at the site twice a week. This collection, however, is for numbers that are less than half of what is being proposed to be added by this new campsite in the same location. This would imply that at least 6 industrial bins would need to be located in this same area further eroding the safety and amenity of the area for all concerned.
3.Noise and Light spill to the Conservation Area and threats to Residential Amenity
The site sits directly adjacent to conservation areas (SSSI) that is highly protected for the habitat they provide to wildlife. The additional noise, light and waste of what would, in effect, be a minimum additional 100 people inhabiting this small otherwise quiet and dark wildlife corridor between caravan site and housing will have a strong detrimental impact on the protected habitats. In addition, the crowding in of so many chemical toilets, refuse bins, and outdoor food preparation would likely attract vermin to the area. This, in combination with potentially dozens of dogs at the site, will clearly be a an additional threat to the native wildlife. Overall, the crowding, noise, light spill, and potential anti-social behaviour will have a serious detrimental impact on the amenity of the houses adjacent to the proposed site, the caravan users and walkers using the adjacent footpaths to the beach and those connecting to the larger area.
4.Flood Risk: The proposed site is located within a zone of flood risk. Therefore, in addition to all the reasons stated above on which the application should be rejected, a full flood risk would need to be undertaken before any further consideration. Any proposals for evacuation would have to take into account the lack of access set out above.
In summary, the proposal must be rejected as highly inappropriate. It would create a dangerous overcrowding that threatens the health and safety of residents, beach users, existing campers and the thousands of visitors to Walberswick who comes for the village's clean beaches, abundant nature, dark skies and quiet enjoyments. It would have a negative impact on the protected SSSI and raises flood risk concerns.