Northamptonshire holiday park's plans for red-listed bird's nesting site

A Northamptonshire holiday park that boasts its green credentials has applied for an expansion of their site to more than double the number of chalets.

Phase one of Rockingham Forest Park near Kings Cliffe, on the site of an ex-RAF airbase, was opened in April 2021 offering a ‘luxurious’ 55-lodge retreat among ancient woodland.

Now owner Landal GreenParks has applied to North Northants Council to expand the site by adding 80 more lodges on land to the west of Jacks Green off Wansford Road – phase two.

But concerns have raised that the development could adversely affect the habitat of one of Britain’s most at risk birds – the curlew – and the site may contain unexploded bombs.

One resident who wishes to remain anonymous said: “The site is officially brownfield because it was the old RAF Kings Cliffe and an old quarry, but nature has taken over over 20 to 30 years and transformed the ugly landscape.

"You can hear the curlews call in the sunny weather and I have seen a pair. The curlews were present when the bird surveys for the lodge park were carried out in 2014 and return each spring remaining until July. The birds need protecting – they are ground-nesting birds. The curlew is in severe decline in the UK.”

According to bird and wildlife charity the RSPB, there are just 66,000 breeding pairs of curlew left in the UK. In 2021 the species was added to the ‘Red List’ on the UK Conservation Status report – a tool the Government and conservationists use to assess the health of wildlife populations. Red is the highest level of conservation priority, which means they are in critical decline and need urgent help.

The planning application (NE/22/00266/FUL) seeks permission for a change of use of land to the west of Jacks Green at Rockingham Forest Park ‘to provide a range of tourist accommodation (caravan lodges) along with the construction of a facilities building, with supporting infrastructure, including hard standing bases with drainage and service provision and landscape planting.

Last year Landal GreenParks started working towards a full accreditation from Building with Nature as a ‘commitment to the highest standards of landscape-led design to complement its rural surroundings’.

Rockingham Forest Park has stated it is committed to providing a ‘naturalistic and biodiverse setting’ for its holidaymakers, signing a pledge with Building with Nature to aspire to meet all of its standards and to guide the delivery of good green infrastructure.

A spokesman for North Northants Council (NNC) said: “NNC officers are aware of the nesting curlews on-site and have consulted with the council’s in-house ecologist on the application to ensure nothing is overlooked in this regard.”

Environmental protection, a statutory consultee, has also mentioned the possibility of unexploded ordnance (UXO) as a reason to be cautious.

Responding to the planning application their statement said: "With any previously used land there is the possibility of contamination being present that may pose a risk to the proposed development and this instance the presence of UXO (unexploded ordnance). Having looked through the submitted information no assessments have been submitted in this respect."

So far all consultation comments have objected to the development. No date has been set for the application to be heard at a planning meeting.