Appeal Court’s approval to Bluestone project infuriates CNP |
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Published
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Fri, 22 Jul 2005 06:05
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The Court of Appeal has given the nod for the construction of the £60m Bluestone holiday village project in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
The consent from the court came amidst stiff opposition from the Council for National Parks (CNP) for the building of a resort in the picturesque Pembrokeshire National Park. The CNP called the Appeal Court's verdict “deeply disappointing” for permitting the scheme.
The CNP, the supervisory body regulating development in national parks throughout Wales and England, said that the development of the project in the National Park was a ‘desecration’ of the landscape and would only set a wrong tone for unhealthy constructions in other national parks that would destroy their natural scenic beauty.
However, the three-judge panel at the appeal court unanimously endorsed the permission granted by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park authority for the Bluestone project and said it was absolutely legal. Supporting the previous High Court decision, the judges declared that the planning committee of the park authority had considered economic advantages before giving consent to the project, as it was the authority’s duty to “foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the National Park”.
Meanwhile, developers asserted that their 300 holiday homes would create employment opportunities for many.
An elated chief executive, William McNamara of Bluestone expressed his delight at the court’s unanimous decision and said, “Bluestone has now passed every legal, democratic and environmental test laid before it by two planning committees, 10 statutory advisors, an independent ombudsman, a High Court judge and finally three Lord Justices at the Supreme Court of Appeal. That is seven professional judgements that all bear witness to the propriety of the Bluestone decision and this clears the way for work to begin on this major new holiday village development in the UK.”
The Pembrokeshire National Park Authority also affirmed that the project would not cause any sort of harm to the environment. However, Ruth Chambers, CNP’s Head of Policy thought that it was a missed opportunity for the Appeal Court to elucidate laws concerning chief planning applications in national parks. She vehemently said, “Government policy is that National Parks have the highest level of landscape protection but the Bluestone decision has made a mockery of this. Allowing the Bluestone holiday village to go ahead has muddied the waters for the public and developers alike.”
The CNP, nevertheless, hasn’t lost any hope and is contemplating filing an appeal against the ruling in the House of Lords soon.
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