Holiday park bids for another major expansion months after it doubled in size
An Angus holiday park is bidding for another major expansion – months after it was granted permission to double in size.
Hunters Cabins, north of Forfar, wants to build 15 more lodges to meet staycation demand.
The site just off the A90, which overlooks the River South Esk at Justinhaugh, already has five lodges in place with five more set to be added in the coming weeks.
The latest expansion would involve the addition of four one-bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom units and an amenity unit.
The units would be “along the lines of a static caravan, set onto hardstanding”, with space for parking at each.
Earlier this year, councillors approved plans to double the number of lodges at the site from five to 10. These latest plans would take the total number to 25.
Angus Council previously took enforcement action against site owner John McDonald for unauthorised work at Hunters Cabins.
During June’s meeting, councillors criticised Mr McDonald for doing the work without permission, but said the expansion would encourage tourism.
The enforcement action led to the submission of two separate planning applications, which went before councillors at that point.
One was for permission to increase the number of lodges from five to 10, while the other was a retrospective application for groundworks already completed. These included alterations to an old railway embankment which the site sits on, new hardstanding and changes to the site access.
At the time, the expansion bid was opposed by Kirriemuir Landward East Community Council.
A planning statement submitted with the latest application says: “The proposal for 15 additional units is to accommodate the growth in ‘staycations’ and increase in requests for bookings at the site.
“With easy access to the site from the main A90 dual carriageway, the site is in an ideal location to provide the visitors with access to many tourist attractions and activities in the surrounding area. This can only help the local economy to expand and recover from the Covid lockdown.”
The application will be considered in the coming months.