Dorset holiday park expansion will 'disfigure' World Heritage Site, say opponents

Seatown, Dorset. Rex

Part of England's first natural UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Jurassic Coast, could be disfigured by the expansion of a caravan park into a five-star holiday village, opponents of a scheme in Dorset say.

The Guardian reports that the owners of Golden Cap Holiday Park, located at the foot of the highest point on the south coast on the edge of the village of Seatown, have applied to build a large new leisure building, a restaurant for 420 people, a swimming pool and a new car park.

The holiday park, which is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and surrounded by National Trust inalienable land, could also see more than 300 pitches for mobile caravans and tents replaced with much larger permanent 'lodge-style' units each sleeping up to six people.

The park would be open for 11 months a year.

But locals say the proposed expansion would create a permanent 'new suburb' on the edge of Seatown and makes a mockery of the planning system. They say if an application were made for 300 new bungalows, it would be dismissed.

Sarah Silcox of Chideock told the Guardian: 'This development will produce a huge change to the environment and the community of Chideock and Seatown, creating what is in effect a mini-suburb on the border of the World Heritage-listed Jurassic coast. The protections that we were assured were in place when World Heritage status was given appear to be worthless in the face of the economic imperative.'

Opponents argue that it will attract more traffic and will permanently alter the character of one of Britain's most treasured landscapes, where over 200,000 tourists visit the area around Golden Cap each year.

Owner Martin Cox says the park must be upgraded to keep the business competitive and said the old-fashioned holiday was no longer enough to attract visitors.

He said: 'Golden Cap's location and the old-fashioned bucket and spade holiday are no longer sufficient attractions for the park to compete in today's highly competitive tourism industry.'

Cox is supported by West Dorset district council, which will debate the application on Thursday. Its officers say the plans will boost tourism and provide employment for locals.

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