Eco holiday village planned for south Lancaster set to be blocked by city council

The Ellel Eco Park, or holiday village, proposed to open fully by the end of 2029, would include up to 450 lodges and pods, a market place and up to 25 artisan pods, a hotel and a virtual reality experience building if it was given the green light.

According to independent experts, Ellel Eco Park, which would be developed on land at Home Farm, Ellel Grange, Main Road, Galgate, could create more than 620 full time jobs, attracting some 200,000 plus visitors who would spend in the local area.

Leading leisure experts also say the scheme would bring in £25m of new spending power to the area, and would work closely with the proposed Eden Project Morecambe to ensure a co-ordinated approach was undertaken to educating visitors about the natural world, including the importance and sensitivity of the bay.

It would be highly likely that the Ellel Holiday Village would provide accommodation for visitors to the Eden Project Morecambe.

The proposed development would include large areas of open greenspace and wildlife experiences with nature walks and other outdoor wildlife based activities throughout the site.

Attractions within the site would also include a virtual experience centre, indoor and outdoor activity centres.

However, almost 800 residents lodged objections with the city council about the development, sharing concerns about the detrimental effect it would have on wildlife, as well as traffic and heritage issues.

A city council tree expert also said the proposal had the potential to put pressure on the existing trees and woodlands, which does not currently exist.

Planning officers have said ahead of the city council meeting on February 26 that the site could be deemed unsafe due to being crossed by the Northwest Ethylene Pipeline, a 10” steel, High Pressure (90bar) Ethylene Pipeline designated as a Major Accident Hazard Pipeline.

The proposed development is also located within a valued landscape that has a close historic association between Ellel Grange and the designed parkland alongside the Lancaster Canal that forms an important green space network in the district.

The proposal for recreation and commercial uses fails to preserve the open nature and character of the area resulting in a significant harm to the landscape character of the site, the visual amenity of the area, setting of the Grade II Listed Ellel Grange, the historically designed parkland setting and the value and integrity of the canal corridor as an important green space, officers say.

There are also concerns about possible flood risk from "surface water and groundwater".

As a result, officers have recommended that members of the planning committee refuse the application.

Plans for the eco park were originally submitted to Lancaster City Council in 2021.

Andrew Stanyon, project director, said: "We see Ellel Eco Park as one holistic solution, the mixture of lodges, hotels and marketplace will not only allow us to invest in the intensive rewilding of the land, it will also give us a platform for visitors, a place where they will be able to immerse themselves in nature."