Bladon Chains - another lost site?
What is going on? A planning application has been submitted for the demolition of the Club's site and for the erection of lodges to take its place!.
Check it out >here< on the West Oxfordshire Council site. Anyone got anymore information, does that mean the end of a site for Blenheim Palace and Woodstock or is the reason for the popup site?
peedee
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Interesting. This .....
outlines most of the proposal. A combination of factors influencing the possible change of usage.
All the documents are there to be perused.
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Clearly it is out of the club's hands and the Trust is taking the site back. There is much info to be seen, as TDA said, and this is another example.
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Have just gone through the application documents on Peedee post and can find nothing about any relocation of the touring site,
Interesting that the application still classes the lodges as "caravans" although the bases are of Cotswold stone
I think Bristol is still waiting further "enviromental" reports and input from the HMG dept?
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Peedee
Thanks for the heads up and the link to all the documents involved in this application.
Should we be surprised? I suspect the same could happen to a number of sites run by the Club which are held on lease. Bladon Chains as a campsite is in desperate need of an upgrade which now looks very unlikely. Even if the application fails we can clearly see what the owners of the site have in mind.
I suppose it is possible that a new site could be created either behind the current site or elsewhere on the Estate but there is no indication of the plans of any alternative access or access through the new development.
David
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Hmm, they were working. I tested mine and saw TDA's earlier. As PD suggests, try going via his link.
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I have noticed before on various Council Planning websites that links to individual documents don't work, you always seem to have to go into the main planning application and then follow the link to documents.
David
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Yes mine was working after I posted it. Some of the reasons for change of use are compelling. New units having less impact on local environment than all those white boxes, suggestion that Covid will mean less overseas holidays, so lodges seen as more friendly for family breaks. Plus of course more money for Estate.
Never been to BC Site. Only know it via AD’s photos and posts. Been around area, which of course is nice.
Best not let Devonshire Estates catch on, they don’t usually miss out on income, so watch out Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey😱😂
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I hope Vanbrugh Estates have done their homework if Darwin Escapes is the chosen company to manage things. Their Trustpilot ratings are.......🤣
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I am guessing there is little point in objecting to the proposal, I think one could on the grounds of a greater impact on the landscape than the current development. A bit flimsy but if the Estate does not want to renew a lease there seems little point trying to keep it.
Where abouts was the pop up site, did anyone use it, if so what did they think of it?
peedee
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I think the environmental impact argument is already lost PD. Less units, new ones to impact less on landscape, year round employment rather than seasonal, local cleaning staff, more support for local businesses. Tourers tend to carry all they need, folks that stop in cottages/lodges etc.... will shop local. It’s what we do when we use cottages.....
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I suppose you could object on the basis that it is taking away valuable touring pitches from the Oxford area which have good access to public transport but beyond that it is difficult to come up with something that is likely to sway the planning committee!
The Pop Up Site is apparently in the field beyond the main site. Quite a few of the reviews from people staying on the main site have complained about the pop up site for various reasons but beyond the reviews I don't know how widespread it is.
It is possible that a new site could be built on that field but it would rather be at odds to the reasons for converting the existing site to holiday lodges? This is where we are missing information from the Club.
David
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We stayed there last December and the pitch we were originally offered was not acceptable. It was tiny and was on a slope. Most of the hardstanding are not very large, a few around the toilet block are a bit bigger. If you compare Bladon Chains with more modern Club sites it would not be classed as one of the best on the network.
David
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As it is/was a leased site from the estate ,it may well have been on the cards to be taken back hence the lack/ of investment in the site
Morn Hill was and still is according some waiting upgrade finance, although the "problems" it seems ,as to the lease/sale have been solved.
The following is from some communication i had with a senior member of the EGH team in July and i am sure has not improved
"All non-essential expenditure, project work,and new site development work is suspended indefinitely and this could continue for many months yet"
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I suspect it’s more an Estate issue than an unwillingness to put in improvements from a Club point of view. If the lease wasn’t worth it (and clearly the Estate had other plans) then the Club would be cautious about spending much on something out of their control? 🤷♀️
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This site is playing up when I pressed the reply button it just went back to the main discussions page twice heyho but eventually it came up twice. Bladon is on a monthly rental, lease ran out a couple of years ago when talking to the then wardens.
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