A RETIRED planning inspector has vowed to set a judicial review process in motion if a controversial planning application in Hellifield is approved.

David Pinner, who worked as acting chief planning officer for Craven District Council before leaving to become a planning inspector some 25 years ago, has branded the plans to create a leisure park-type complex with up to 300 lodges, a hotel and outdoor activity provision on land known as Hellifield Flashes, as “a monster”.

Both Mr Pinner and former CDC planning committee member Phil Read, both of Park Avenue, Hellifield, have lodged objections and also raised concerns over the recent removal of objections from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the RSPB.

YDNPA chief executive David Butterworth said: “We originally objected to the Hellifield Flashes proposed development on two grounds. First, although sited outside the national park, we thought the development would have a considerable detrimental impact on the visual quality of it. Second, we thought the proposed development – designed to attract significant number of visitors to the area – would bring about increased usage not only of the local rights of way but of the network of routes across Craven.

“We withdrew our landscape objection because the developer made amendments to the plans. Much more tree planting was introduced, for example, while the height of some of the proposed buildings was reduced. Our second concern was addressed by the developer offering to fund a 30 year programme – worth £25,000 a year – for the maintenance and improvement of the public rights of way network in the Craven part of the Park. This would allow the national park authority to conduct enhancements to the network both locally at the proposed site and further afield. No written agreement has been reached, and much of the detail must be worked out.”

Mr Pinner added: “This latest application is a monster and in my opinion should have been thrown out straight away.

“It bears no resemblance to any extant planning permission on the land and there have been significant changes in circumstances since the original allocation of the land for low-key leisure development around 20 years ago.”

He said he wanted to know why the application was taking so long to come to committee and why there had been little information given to residents about it.

Mr Pinner said he has lodged an FOI request with CDC for details of all meetings associated with the plans.

“I plan to start a judicial review if this application is passed because I and many others believe the site is not suitable.”

Jo Steel, on behalf of the developer, said: “It is not at all unusual for major applications to take time, and in this case the applicant has been responding to issues that have been raised by the Council ‘s consultees. This is a routine part of the planning application process.”