Road safety concerns have been raised over plans for a number of holiday lodges next to a closed down pub in Carlton on Trent.
Eleven static holiday lodges and six touring caravan pitches are planned to the back of the Great Northern Inn pub in Ossington Road, Carlton-On-Trent.
The pub is permanently closed, and was recently advertised for sale on Rightmove for £375,000.
Mr P Calladine, who has submitted the plans, hopes “the staycation will bring prosperity to a rural community, including the local village shop, and public house in Sutton-on-Trent approximately one mile to the north.”
Plans state the closed pub could become a “community facility” should the holiday lodges be approved, by making it more attractive for a prospective new landlord in the future.
However a number of concerns have been raised.
Nottinghamshire County Council, as the highways authority, said the development could risk causing a collision due to the access to the site being so close to a level crossing.
Principal officer Sarah Hancock says there would be “an unacceptable impact on highway safety” and that the highways authority would be objecting on these grounds.
Tanya Grimes, clerk to Carlton-on-Trent Parish Council said councillors have discussed this application but felt unable to either support or object to the proposals due to lack of information.
But councillors have raised a number of concerns.
“There is no information as to the provision of an amenity block for the touring pitches, which the council felt should be a requirement given the number of pitches,” she said.
“There is no detail regarding the sewage treatment plant, either for its design or position.
“The site, being in the middle of industrial units and beside the railway doesn’t seem like an ideal holiday location. The application gives no suggestion as to whether the public house will be revived. The pub is important to the parish and it was hoped it would re-open.
“However, it was felt that losing this land to a holiday park with the necessary access right through the pub car park would make the pub a less desirable purchase and thus less likely to re-open, resulting in the loss of amenity to the village.”
Newark and Sherwood District Council’s environmental services have also said there could be problems relating to contaminated land, because it was once used for railway purposes.
“Councillors also echoed the concerns of the environmental health officer regarding the fact that the land had once been sidings for the railway and could therefore be contaminated – yet there is no information about how this will be handled,” the parish council clerk added.
Plans from the developer conclude: “The proposed holiday and tourism use would give the public house a huge boost and would help make this community facility more viable and more attractive for owners and landlords into the future.
“The combination of a public house site and a tourism site is common across the whole of England and is very successful as the two elements support each other in bringing economic activity and finances to a local area – and would bring a worthwhile spend into the local area.”
Newark and Sherwood District Council will now consider the application.
