The Friends of Pembrokeshire National Park have recently registered their objections to the proposed Bluestone holiday village development that is currently being considered by the National Park.
The Friends association, which is a registered charity, is committed to protect, conserve and enhance the National Park for the public benefit. They do not believe that the proposal to site about 400 dwellings with associated permanent infrastructure will either conserve or enhance the National Park and is clearly contrary to the main principles of the National Park.
In their submission to the Park Authority, the Friends point out that the applicants have not provided any overriding reasons why such a major development should be located in the National Park, other than the wish to exploit their ownership of the land.
In addition, the proposal is contrary to policy in the deposit Joint Unitary Development Plan for Pembrokeshire, which states that new build developments will only be permitted within an existing settlement within the National Park.
Furthermore the Development Plan indicates that new large-scale attractions should not be sited in the National Park except in exceptional circumstances of proven national interest.
The latter criteria are not met with the Bluestone proposals.
The chairman of the Friends association, Professor John Ratcliffe, said that in coming to this decision, they recognise that tourism and associated economic benefits are important to Pembrokeshire.
While the proposal has the potential to provide a significant amount of employment and might help to catalyse other projects within the county, it could equally be located elsewhere in Pembrokeshire in a setting which does not carry the highest level of statutory environmental protection.
Should the Park Authority be minded to accept the proposal, the so-called 'Pembrokeshire experience' whereby the whole county is claimed to benefit, needs to be enforceable, said the Friends. The proposal includes no contractual agreements to ensure that visitor attractions elsewhere in the county will be part of an integral visitor package.
Other points raised in the Friends submission relate to the design of the log cabins, pollution safeguards, sustainable energy use and safeguards to ensure that any future owner will be required to maintain the aims and quality of the present proposal. Finally, no arrangements are included to restore the site to its original condition should the village close at some future date.