A HOLIDAY park is hoping to benefit from the "resurgence in the staycation market" as it bids to extend its holiday season.
Steeple Bay Holiday Park is situated on the southern edge of the Blackwater Estuary at the end of Canney Road, about 1.5km north-west of Steeple.
Park Holidays UK, who operates Steeple Bay Holiday Park, have submitted an application to Maldon District Council for "variation of condition to allow occupation of holiday caravans between March 1 and February 14 (inclusive) in the following year".
The applicant currently has permission (granted in 2018) for seasonal occupancy between March 1 and November 30 inclusive.
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Permission was granted at the time following the completion of additional survey work to address objections raised in relation to the impact on over-wintering birds.
A similar application submitted to extend the holiday park's season was refused in March 2020 as the decision notice stated it would have "potential significant impact upon the nature conservation designations and protected species".
The applicant says further survey work has been undertaken over the last year to provide additional information on the impact of this proposal on the conservation areas and protected species.
The planning statement says: "This is a long-established holiday park that will benefit from the extension of its holiday season, particularly in the light of the resurgence in the staycation market resulting from the COVID pandemic.
"This substantial holiday park is unable to trade in common with others within the region as a result of its limited seasonal period and is not therefore able to deliver its optimum benefit to the local economy.
"The granting of consent will further assist in its’ upgrading and improvement and help both the operational effectiveness and competitiveness of the park and (as a result) provide benefit to the local tourism economy."
It also adds "the development will not impact materially upon areas of national and local nature conservation interest".
And ecological survey work shows "at worst, there is no alteration in the overall impact on wintering birds as a result of the proposal, and benefits can be achieved through the application of additional mitigation measures".
Maldon District Council will rule on the application.
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