An application to double the camping season at a Swanage dairy farm has been rejected by Dorset Council.

Coombe Farm at Coombe Hill wanted to extend the 28 days allowed under permitted development rights, to 56 days, as had been permitted when the Government lifted restrictions during the Covid pandemic.

The Dicker family opened the tent-only site, which is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the Corfe Valley character area, in the summer of 2020.

The family claimed there would be no harm in extending the use of the 3.6 hectare site, which is largely shielded by trees, and that its longer use would contribute positively to the local economy. They had also asked to install a cesspool at the site to take the foul drainage from a portable loo block.

The Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team said they feared that if the extended season was allowed at Coombe Farm it would set a precedent for other camp sites in the area – further detracting from the natural beauty of the wider location, including views of the area from the Purbeck Ridge.

Agents for the farm say the numbers using the site , which only offers basic facilities, vary from 10-15 midweek and up to 40 at the weekend and that the site is cleared at the end of the season.