By 
Residents oppose plans for former Pleasure Island site
Locals have opposed plans to build a holiday park on the former Pleasure Island site, referring to them as an “ecological disaster”.
The application site comprises c. 23.5 ha of land.
It comprises the entirety of the former Pleasure Island theme park site, as well as undeveloped land to the north and south-east.
The application includes plans for holiday accommodation, comprising 31 eight-bed and 219 ten-bed lodges alongside a new hotel, accommodating 148 bedrooms.
It also proposes that the site will house a number of food, retail and leisure units, and that the lake will be repurposed for “non-motorised water sports.”
The site is not within a ‘sensitive area’, nor does it lie within a Conservation Area – but since its closure, the site has become an ‘unofficial’ nature reserve.
It is currently home to a number of visiting and native bird species including the cuckoo, reed warblers, little grebes and water rails due to its location on an important migration route.
As such, a number of residents feel that the adverse impact on wildlife outweigh the economic benefits of the development.
In an appeal submitted to North East Lincolnshire Council, one resident wrote:
“I strongly feel that the impact of a huge caravan site and the number of humans this would bring to the area would greatly impact the wildlife, flora and fauna with the stripping of the land, the litter they leave behind on beaches or everywhere for that matter.
“I implore you to reject the plans and look more to creating a haven, a nature reserve or rescues centre, anything that will help rather than destroy more of our fragile eco system.”
“The whole purpose of the proposed development is to generate human activity, and the inevitable consequence will be eradication of most of the wildlife,” added another.
However, the council’s planning department have ruled that the development is “unlikely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location.”
Contact Gi Grimsby
Email us: [email protected]
Follows us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest local stories, breaking news and to join the conversation
