Council approves construction of new building at Filey Bird Garden and Animal Park

The Filey Bird Garden and Animal Park at East Lea Farm House, Filey has been given the green light to construct a single-storey toilet block, staff room and showers.

Located on Scarborough Road, the animal park has also been given permission to convert its existing toilet block into a storage facility following the approval of its planning application on Tuesday, May 9.

Planning officers said that the primary consideration concerning the development was the need to keep it to an appropriate scale with regard to the surrounding development at the existing Bird Garden and Animal Park.

According to a report, this was to ensure that the development “does not have a negative impact on the surrounding open countryside” while continuing to expand an existing business and providing additional facilities for the tourist attraction.

No members of the public took part in the public consultation and no comments were received from the authority’s environmental health team, while the parish council said it had no objections to the scheme.

The report states that as part of the development, the timber-built ladies’ toilet block will be removed from the site “to increase circulation and outside seating space adjacent to the existing café”.

The site is surrounded by a 2m high fence to screen views from the area of open countryside to the south and east, whilst existing buildings and perimeter hedge to the north screens the site when viewed from Scarborough Road.

The planning authority concluded that as such, the development “will not have a detrimental visual impact on the landscape” at the site and planning permission was granted subject to conditions.