AN EAST Stoke camp site has been refused permission to replace the seasonal tent area with six luxury holiday lodges.

The Woodlands Camping Site off Bindon Lane, which has been in use since the early 1970s, was told that the proposal is unacceptable in the area.

The parish council was among those objecting, claiming that the site, which is in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has become overdeveloped and that more permanent structures would “affect landscape qualities.” The site already has several holiday units, a shop and a breakfast room.

The area planning officer concluded that the application would be contrary to local planning constraints: “the overall size and number of proposed lodge buildings is considered to result in overdevelopment of the restricted site resulting in a proposal that would appear over intrusive and cramped within the tranquil rural setting of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,” said the report.