A FOREST businessman has lost his appeal to remove a condition preventing holiday homes from being used as main residences.

Mr Jason Smith had been granted permission by the Forest Council for 11 lodges at Valley View Park near Blakeney

Following difficulty selling the lodges, he applied for the condition limiting their use to holiday homes to be dropped.

A planning inspector has now backed the Forest Council’s decision that the condition remain.

Inspector Lewis Condé said the development was in the open countryside and would mean residents would be dependent on cars.

This would go against council policies supporting sustainable development and therefore the condition was reasonable.

He said the two bedrooms in each of the lodges were small and “would result in highly cramped and impractical internal accommodation for more permanent residential occupancy. “

High fencing would maintain privacy between most of the plots but there would be a significant loss of privacy for occupants of two of the lodges.

Mr Conde said it was the “scale, internal layout and siting of the proposed development that would result in unsuitable living conditions for potential future and largely permanent occupiers.”

Mr Smith submitted the lodges would cost less than th average for homes in the area but the inspector said even if that were the case, they would not necessarily meet the official definition of “affordable housing”.

The inspector said that sightlines for drivers approaching the site were restricted and there were “significant” risks for pedestrians crossing the A48.

But he concluded there was unlikely to be an increase in safety risks for permanent residents compared with the use which had permission.

The inspector concluded: “Overall, I find that the adverse impacts of granting planning permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.”