FAQs & FACTS
- 75 holiday lodges
- 249 car park spaces
- Service buildings
- Roads
- Cafe
- Shop
Matlock Forest is one of the smallest Forest England sites at 483ha.
It is markedly smaller than other sites where Forest Holidays have built their lodges, such as Delamere Forest at 972ha, Thetford Forest at 18,730 ha, Dalby Forest at 3,575ha and the Forest of Dean at 10,500ha
- Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
- Derbyshire Ornithological Society
- Darwin Forest Holidays
- Derbyshire Dales Ramblers
- The Council for the Protection of Rural England
- The Clean Rivers Trust
- Members of the public that use the woodlands for recreation
Here is the actual copy from the Darley Dale Town Council planning minutes dated 19-08-24:
24/00665/FUL: Mr Andrew Brook Forest Holidays Ltd
DEVELOPMENT: Proposed creation of 75 no. timber cabins with associated reception, shop and cafe, maintenance building, natural play area, ranger station, storage pods, recycling points and ancillary roads, paths and parking.
LOCATION: Land At Farley Moor Farley Lane Farley Derbyshire Members of the public were permitted to make representations, ask and answer questions from councillors regarding the application. It was RESOLVED to submit a recommendation of OBJECTION on the following grounds:
i. Light pollution in open countryside.
ii. Highways safety issues with traffic generation on a narrow road (Farley Lane/Farley Hill) with no pavement and a 60mph speed limit. Estimated 65,000 visitors per year entering the site with poor access and the only public transport being 4 buses daily (which stop at the bottom of Farley Hill) plus a site shuttle bus available only on check-in / check-out leaving visitors with no option but to use private cars.
iii. The site entrance is unsuitable for the current usage plus additional traffic resulting from the development.
iv. The capacity of the existing infrastructure is insufficient to accommodate the effluent from an additional 75 dwellings.
v. Environmental impact on wildlife caused by noise and disturbance from the use of the site and constant operation of heat exchangers.
vi. The site is within the impact zone of a SSSI.
vii. The environmental impact of building on a peat bogland and resulting CO2 emissions.
viii. If considered, units should only be considered for holiday lets and not for future sale as holiday homes. Sale as holiday homes has the potential to result in loss of access to the public.
Derbyshire Dales District Council will be considering the planning application for Farley Moor (Reference 24/00665/FUL) in the next few weeks. Of course, they have to balance job creation and the economy with the environment, but in this instance the balance is wholly the wrong way.
Please let your local councillors know what you think of these plans.