THORNTON Hall Country Park wants to expand its car park to cope with increasing numbers going to its visitor centre.

The 300 per cent increase in the car park, off Church Road at Thornton-in-Craven, will see it expand from its current 55 spaces to 225.

But, first, it needs to get the permission of both Pendle Borough Council and Craven District Council.

The tourist attraction, one of the leading in the Pendle district, is a popular destination for families and school parties.

It also hosts a series of events throughout the year, for which it has a licence for up to 1,000 people, such as this bank holiday weekend's Tractor World event.

It also runs a holiday club for children, classes in painting pottery, face painting, pony rides and even family yoga.

It employs 20 full-time staff and five part-time, and plays a significant role in the area's economy.

But it says its current car park, although expandable in the dry, summer months, is restricted in the winter, and visitors are being forced to park in the village itself, causing disruption to residents.

It now plans to permanently expand the car park using land it currently uses as an overflow at busy times.

It will mean the removal of part of a dry stone wall and a section of post and rail fence, as well as the resurfacing of the current grassed area. It is planned to enclose the new car parking area with a post and rail fence and hawthorn hedge.

Paul Fay, for Thornton Hall Farm and owner Chris Harrison, in a statement supporting the plans, says a larger car park is needed to support the growth and expansion of the well-established rural tourism business.

He adds: "The continued success of the farm has meant its current car park is far too small to accommodate visitor numbers and, as a consequence, there is a clear need to to extend in order to safely accommodate visitor numbers.

"During the summer months, the land that is subject of the application is used for overflow parking, but this is not possible during the wetter winter months, and the farm is open and busy all year round."

The farm has applied to Pendle Borough Council, as the land falls inside its boundaries, but also to Craven District Council because the access road is within Craven.

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