Hotel and campsite plans next to Holsworthy retirement village are approved

A 30-bedroom hotel and camping site for motorhomes has been granted planning permission to be built next to a retirement village in Holsworthy.

Torridge District Council’s planning committee has approved the application for agricultural land adjacent to Rydon Village off the A3072.

But 83 retirement village occupants are concerned the 24-hour, 365-day-a-year operation will cause increased air, noise and light pollution and have a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of elderly and vulnerable residents.

Sylvia Argyrou said the village would be overlooked by the site ‘stripping us of our privacy and peace’ and it was so close that residents would be able to wave to hotel guests as they entered the facility.

Cllr Kit Hepple said it was ‘the wrong development in the wrong place’ and he highlighted issues of safety regarding the shared access and the farm track to the new development and a proposed footpath alongside the A3072 to link with the town centre.

But councillors were urged to think about the economic growth and employment opportunities a hotel would bring.

Around 35 jobs are expected to be created once the hotel is built and 40 others during construction.

The site will also have camping pitches for 30 motorhomes.

Council leader Ken James said there was very little accommodation in the area, with the nearest hotel of this type in Bideford.

He told the committee the scheme aligned with Torridge’s plans to bring the district out of deprivation by embarking on ‘amazing projects’ such as the Appledore Clean Maritime Innovation Centre which aimed to be a leading global research enterprise for clean shipping and an agri-tech scheme at Holsworthy Cattle Market.

The district has recently been given £20million of government cash to help boost employment.

The meeting heard Holsworthy is a growth area attracting interest from investors from home and abroad and one industrial estate is full to capacity.

Chair of the Great South West Investment Board and member of the South West Business Council Tim Jones said: “I think this application shows that Holsworthy is open for business and committed to economic development.

“I have known this area for 30 years, I cannot remember a time when the prospects for Holsworthy have been as good as they are now.”

However Cllr Philip Pennington said hospitality is traditionally low paid and this sort of employment would not help Torridge lower the number of the thousands of working residents on Universal Credit.

But Cllr Chris Leather said modern hotel accommodation is in short supply in Torridge and it should be supported.

Devon County Council highways officer Mike Newcombe said the track to the development would be widened to cope with large motorhomes and the footway would be 1.5metres to accommodate wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

The committee agreed the plans by five votes to three.