Glamping Site Plans Approved By Horsham District Council

Plans to set up a glamping site in a field in West Chiltington have been approved by Horsham District Council.

Plans to set up a glamping site in West Chiltington have been approved by Horsham District Council.

The application, for land in Sinnocks, was given the nod by the planning committee on Tuesday (September 21).

Applicant Gemma Hunter, who is a  yoga teacher and wellbeing therapist, told the meeting that the plan was to set up a ‘very small and discrete wellbeing retreat’.

Describing the ‘immeasurable’ benefits of ‘spending a few days immersed in nature’, she said:

“By its very nature, the glamping site will be quiet and peaceful. It will include just four geodomes which can each accommodate just two adults.

“The site setting is important to the experience being offered.

“We will be enhancing wildlife ecosystems and the rural landscape. The better we make it, the better and more therapeutic the experience for our guests.”

Not everyone was convinced.

John Blackall (Con, West Chiltington, Thakeham and& Ashington) said he was worried about how narrow the road was and how difficult it was to access the site.

But he added:

“What is being proposed here is actually going on on an ad hoc basis, completely unregulated, all over West Chiltington.”

Philip Circus (Con, West Chiltington, Thakeham & Ashington) shared concerns raised by the parish council about the potential for noise and disturbance,

He said:

“I wonder how many of us would want this facility next to us and how many would object.

“I think it’s naive to think this will not be a source of noise and disturbance.”

The issue of car parking prompted questions from Nigel Jupp (Con, Billingshurst).

The application included space for 15 cars, seven motorbikes and six bicycles and Mr Jupp wondered why there were so many.

He asked whether approving the plans would ‘provide a pathway for the number of units on the site increasing’.

Despite the questions and concerns, the application was approved.

The domes will be more than 3m in height and between 5 and 6m in diameter. They will be set on pads and fitted with bamboo flooring, a wood-burning stove and chimney.

Solar-fans would be used for ventilation, there will be a toilet/shower block, and a new access to the site will be created.

To view the plans in full, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/21/0911.