In a report to Swale’s planning committee, officers state that the council has resisted changing the policy of the holiday season for static caravan parks for many years, but has been forced to change its stance in light of the economy and because the island is losing tourists to boroughs with less restrictive conditions.

The season now runs from March 1st to January 3rd and have been received from the owners of Shurland Dale Holiday Park, Warden Road, Eastchurch; Ashcroft Caravan Park, Plough Road, Minster; Warden Springs Caravan Park, Thorn Hill Road, Warden and Eastern Road Holiday Park and Harts Holiday Camp, both on Leysdown Road, Leysdown.

The council has stressed that this policy would still not allow all-year-round occupation, and will be imposing new conditions to ensure this. Yet concerns have been raised about the lack of services on the island, extra traffic and the loss of the more subdued winter months previously enjoyed by permanent residents.

A letter opposing the Shurland Dale application pointed out: “There are 7,000 caravans in the parish of Eastchurch, 4,000 of them served from Warden Road. The increased population and associated antisocial behaviour nearly all year round would be unfair on local people.”

David Purssord, a parish counsellor and trader in Leysdown, expressed his views on the situation: “There are some concerns about noise and different issues with other sites, but I believe this decision could be the saving grace for Leysdown traders. I firmly believe that Swale Council will look back on this decision in two or three years and congratulate itself.”

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