Holiday home construction at Hunmanby Hall gets green light despite ‘strong objections’

The construction of nine holiday cottages at Hunmanby Hall, including the conversion of the gym building and demolition of the sports hall, can go ahead despite “strong objections” from the parish council and more than 50 residents.

It comes a year after plans for 14 holiday homes were first submitted, later withdrawn, and then re-submitted as a scheme for nine cottages by Ashcourt Hunmanby Ltd.

The application was given the green light at a North Yorkshire Council planning meeting after division councillor Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff highlighted “the potential loss of a community facility” and “considerable public interest” in the matter.

The development will take place on Hall Park Road on the estate of Hunmanby Hall, a Grade-II* Listed building dating from the early 17th Century.

The sports hall, which was understood to have been closed since 2022, will be demolished to make way for a terrace of four two-bed holiday lets while the gym building will be converted into five holiday lets.

The sports hall and gym building were created when Hunmanby Hall was a boarding school for girls, which closed in 1991.

The site will be accessed from Hall Park Road leading into a parking area with 16 spaces.

‘Concerns are understood’

Many of the people who objected to the plan raised concerns about the loss of a community facility and the impact of more holiday lets on local services and infrastructure.

Some residents also argued that the facilities were “regularly used up until the middle of September 2023”, according to a report.

One objector said: “The development will lead to the loss of a golf course, dog walking facilities, tennis courts, gym and the sports hall which make an important contribution to local health and wellbeing.”

Another said that as the site was outside of the development limits of Hunmanby “and within the countryside, developments should be severely restricted”.

While planning officers noted the loss of facilities, they said that submitted evidence indicated that the “community uses on site have been marketed without success for a period of time, prior to the applicant purchasing the site” and as such the loss could be justified.

A report presented to councillors stated that “the objections from Hunmanby Parish Council and residents are acknowledged and can be understood” but that the plan was in compliance with local policies.

Councillors on the planning committee voted to approve the development with five votes in favour and two against.