CARAVANNERS and ‘staycationers’ can now enjoy a holiday park in Oakmere all year round.

Oakmere Lodge Country Park has been given the go-ahead to open 12 months a year by Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Under the planning permission it was given back in 2014, Oakmere Lodge had to close between January 16 and March 1 each year.

But the company has successfully argued that holidaymakers now want to spend time on the site during the winter months, and therefore the closed season is now ‘no longer fit for purpose’.

Representing Oakmere Lodge in its planning application, Graham Anthony Associates said: “The nature of holidays in the UK has become increasingly diverse with people going away several times a year and not exclusively in the summer months.

“The spread of this demand over more of the year improves the use made of holiday accommodation and is advantageous to the businesses which provide accommodation and the host communities which are supported by the spending which it generates.”

The agent for Oakmere Lodge also suggested the impact of coronavirus should also be considered – with the decision set to boost a tourism business.

“The lockdown has created a situation from which the 2020 summer holiday season has been lost with all leisure parks and hotels closed,” the planning application said.

“Therefore, to allow some level of tourism to return in the latter part of 2020 leisure parks should not be constrained by closed season occupancy conditions.”

No residents objected to the proposal, but Delamere and Oakmere Parish Council stood against it, insisting the site is a ‘holiday park’ and not an ‘all year round residential site’.

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In making a decision, CWAC officer Brian Leonard noted that there are already conditions in place to prevent the site being used for permanent residence, while a Government good practice guide advises that tourism is now more diverse and can take place all year round.

Oakmere Lodge has permission for 50 holiday chalets and 31 touring caravans on separate areas of the park.