Plan for 12 ‘glamping pods’ for year-round use in Whitby countryside submitted to council

A plan proposing the construction of up to 12 shepherd huts on land near Bannial Flat Farm in Whitby has been submitted to the council for approval.

Of the proposed huts, 10 would be used as holiday accommodation and two would be “additional huts to support the use” of the site.

The application, submitted by Mrs R. Archibald, seeks permission to change the use of the land for the proposed holiday accommodation for year-round use.

The shepherd huts would be clad in galvanised steel and each would have its own solar power mounted on the ground.

Wastewater details “are not confirmed at this stage”, according to the applicant.

The holiday site is intended to be open for 365 days a year and “a minimum stay of 2 nights will be a condition of booking.”.

An attendant will be on the site every day from 8am to 5pm to manage the arrival and departure of guests, clean the huts, and manage the grounds.

Parking would be provided for up to 12 vehicles in an area to the north of the site.

A highway assessment reports that the level of traffic generated by the proposals could be accommodated and would not “significantly add to any congestion at the peak times on the local network”.

Documents submitted to the council state that “the scale of development has been kept deliberately low… so that landscaping can take place”, with “trees, scrub and buffer planting” proposed along the site’s boundaries.

A study of the visual impacts of the proposal, commissioned by the applicant, states that the shepherds’ huts would have a low adverse impact initially” but after 15 years “the landscape structure would have been established”.

The plan is currently pending consideration with North Yorkshire Council and the planning authority which have not yet made a decision on the proposal.