
A major Isle of Wight campsite could be about to upgrade its facilities.
Natalie Rowland of the Caravan and Motorhome Club lodged a planning application with County Hall to upgrade 12 grass pitches to all-weather pitches at its Southland Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite site off Winford Road, south of Newchurch.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club describe its Southland site as ‘convenient for all parts of the Island’ and ‘within easy reach of some of the finest beaches’.
Writing to the Isle of Wight Council, the over 100-year-old organisation said:
“The site is an existing touring caravan site which plays an important role in delivering tourist accommodation on the Island.
“The proposal involves a change in the type of pitches being offered, with the need for this having arisen from member feedback and the club’s desire to provide a continued high-quality offering.
“The all-weather pitches would be constructed using permeable, locally sourced loose stone to provide adequate catchment and attenuation to control runoff.
“This ensures that any runoff does not exceed the ground’s permeability characteristics. The stone chippings match the existing pitches elsewhere on site and will result in a sympathetic appearance.”
The campsite has 147 pitches, with just 30 of them currently hardstanding, according to its website. Just four of the pitches are for tents, with the other 143 for touring campervans and caravans.
The club said a Biodiversity Net Gain document submitted as part of its application confirmed the proposal ‘would result in the loss of 0.106 hectares of modified grassland’.
As a mitigation, the document proposed ‘the enhancement of 0.02 hectares of grassland and the planting of 13 native trees’.
County Hall’s public consultation on the application ends on March 14 and a decision has been scheduled for April 3.