Dolygaer Outdoor Activity Centre
Project Overview
Our client, Parkwood Outdoors, purchased the site in 2015 and made significant investments in the Centre providing a new reception/café, the refurbishment of the existing accommodation offer, and generally improving the outdoor pursuits offer and customer experience. In addition, Parkwood Outdoors has made considerable efforts to re-establish the Centre’s reputation, successfully winning the Welsh Hospitality Award for Outdoor Venue of the Year 2017.
epd provided planning consultancy services for the initial application in 2017. Following the withdrawal of this application we then provided both planning and landscape consultancy services to support a planning application for accommodation pods and the regrading of land used as the camping / activities field with associated works. Our involvement was central to the successful granting of a Lawful Development Certificate (LDC) for the application site in August 2019.
The application site comprises 0.9 hectares of land located within the grounds of the Outdoor Pursuits Centre, situated approximately 8km to the north of Merthyr Tydfil and approximately 15km south of Brecon, within the Brecon Beacons National Park. Due to the sensitive nature of any development within a National Park and in consultation with the case officers it was agreed that epd should provide the following principal documents in support of the application:
- Landscape and Visual Appraisal (LVA) report to take account of the nearby Scheduled Ancient Monument, Y Gaer
- Photomontage to illustrate the likely visual effects once the proposed development was complete and in use
- Planning Statement
- Landscape Habitat and Management Plan for inclusion in the Landscape and Ecology Management Plan (LEMP)
- Site Layout, Groundworks, and
- Location Plan
The application was granted full permission by the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority in October 2019.