New plan for Hillcrest kids' centre by Herefordshire's river Wye

Lying in a bend in the river Wye by the village of Foy north of Ross, the Hillcrest centre ran for over 50 years before closing in 2020.

It was centred on a former salmon lodge, which does not form part of the planning application.

Instead a planning application by a Mr Sutton proposes siting the lodges, which will meet the legal definition of a caravan, on two acres of adjacent grassland.

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This would “perpetuate the tourism/recreational use of the site that has endured since the mid-1960s, [and is] still very much in evidence”, his application says.

The “small-scale, high-quality holiday park would not only be characteristic of the site’s lawful use but also one that gives rise to economic benefits within the local area”, it adds.

The 12 would sit “within the discrete, enclosed parcel of land at Hillcrest, with negligible effect on the visual amenity” of the area, part of the Wye Valley area of outstanding natural beauty, it claims.

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A 14-metre-high wooden climbing tower would be removed as part of the development, “leading to visual enhancement of the site”.

Opened in 1957, Hillcrest was the first such centre set up by PGL, founded by businessman Peter Gordon Lawrence who died in Hereford in 2004. The company is still based in Ross-on-Wye, and operates numerous holiday centres in the UK and France.

Comments on the application, numbered 231806, can be made until July 19.