Plan to keep caravan site open for longer turned down amid flooding fears
His proposal aimed to shorten this closed period to 8 January to 1 March, allowing caravans to be used for an extra nine weeks each year. But the committee upheld planning officers' recommendation to refuse the application, noting the site remains within flood-risk zones from both sea and river.
Cllr Alan Hunter proposed councillors backed the plans, stating: 'I was going to speak in favour of allowing this to go through because it is right next to… well, it's all on the same site as where there are residential caravans already.' He added: 'The NRW (Natural Resources Wales) will probably oppose it every single time in that area. There are no houses. If there is a flooding issue, it is on a site that has got caravans there.' Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox.
The site operates as a mixed touring and static caravan park between March and October. Mr Holden's agent had argued that holiday patterns have changed since COVID and Brexit, with visitors now seeking short 'bolt hole' breaks throughout the year rather than traditional seasonal stays.
Cllr Kay Redhead also proposed councillors backed the plans. 'My reservations are that there are residential 12-month plots on that land, and we are only looking at 23 caravans. In the height of the summer, we've got 50,000 to 60,000 extra tourists in Towyn and Kinmel Bay,' she said.
'This will be over the winter period when we don't have anywhere near that amount of people, and I know that one of the reasons is the evacuation procedure. But to evacuate 23 caravans in the middle of winter, I don't feel would be any extra strain on what we already have, considering we haven't got that extra 50,000 to 60,000 people in Towyn and Kimnel Bay at the time.
'The biggest threat of a flood there is from the river, which is Natural Resources Wales' land, which they have ownership of, and I do believe if they feel that is the biggest threat then they need to be doing something to mitigate that because the whole of Towyn and Kinmel Bay is at risk.'
She added: 'We are having the sea defence work done, but if their argument is the river, that is their land, and they should be doing all they can to protect us. So I don't think the extra couple of months for 23 caravans is a massive issue in the big scheme of things, and I would second what Cllr Alan (Hunter) has said.'
The site lies within the Towyn and Kinmel Bay settlement boundary, with homes to the east and commercial and agricultural buildings to the west. Kinmel Bay and Towyn Town Council had no objection to the plans, but NRW strongly advised refusal due to the site's location within Flood Zones 2 and 3, and a Tidal TAN15 Defended Zone.
Consequently, planning officers advised councillors refused the application. Cllr Austin Roberts proposed the committee went with planning officers' recommendation to refuse, which was seconded by Cllr Dave Jones.
Nine councillors voted in favour of refusing the application, with five opposing this and one councillor abstaining. This decision follows the refusal of a previous application on similar flood-risk grounds.
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