Mobile food and drink van at Beacon View Wood, Beacon Road, Trellech

“Change of use of part of car parking area in Beacon View for the provision of one mobile food/drink van in the car park. There are no new hardstandings or permanent structures proposed. The van/trailer will not be permitted to park overnight, proposed seasonal opening hours of 9am to 5pm. There will be no electricity supply and no diesel or external generators…”

“The application site relates to a car park that serves the woodland area that is Beacon View Wood. The application site is an existing car park that is situated adjacent to the public highway, but located on higher ground and not within viewpoint of the main highway. The site is accessed via a short length of track that joins the public highway.”

“The car park and surrounding woodlands are managed by NRW. The car park is informal with no delineation of car parking spaces. The application site is within the Wye Valley National Landscape.”

“The application seeks full planning permission for the change of use of part of the woodland car park to site a catering van between the months of March and October from 9am to 5pm every day during that time. The site is in an area of open countryside. In this instance the proposed catering van is a use not a building and is considered for the purposes of supporting leisure and tourism.”

“The intensity of the operation is limited by its scale, hours of operation, operational constraints (no toilets, running water etc), and siting, which is at a higher level to the main highway and screened by surrounding trees with no clear viewpoints of the site from the main highway.”

“Wye Valley National Landscape: Thank you for consulting the Wye Valley National Landscape (WVNL) Team on the application. Owing to the small and temporary nature of the proposals, there are no significant concerns regarding potential adverse landscape and visual impacts on the WVNL, dependent on suitable conditions should the application be approved, and adequate management by NRW to prevent an increase in littering and food waste being left in the area.”

“MCC Highways: No objection The application proposes the siting of a food truck within an existing car park. The site is accessed via a short length of track that joins the public highway along the unclassified C50.3. The truck is to be located within an existing car park adjacent to the public highway but located on higher ground and not readily in view.”

“The proposed development is unsuitable for this location and poses significant risks to public safety, environmental protection, and the viability of existing local businesses The site is reached via steep, exceptionally narrow, and poorly maintained lanes with no passing places.”

“Light and litter risks harm to habitats associated with nearby SSSI and SAC woodland sites, conflicting with statutory biodiversity duties under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 The complete lack of toilet and handwashing facilities for staff and visitors raises severe food hygiene concerns and presents a public health hazard in a public recreational area Impact on local businesses, several pubs, cafes and restaurants operate only minutes away, undermining the local economy…”

“We resolved that consideration of application DM/2025/01039 be deferred to the next available Planning Committee meeting with reasons for refusal as it was considered that the car park was confined and the provision of a catering van on the site would take up already limited parking spaces leading to on-road parking to the detriment of highway safety, and would lead to a lack of space for safe manoeuvring within the park which was an area well-used by walkers and their pets,…”