Native woodland on edge of Cleethorpes likely to make way for holiday lodges in New Year

Historically, the woodland was known as Peak's Covert

ONE of the few remaining native woodlands in the Cleethorpes area is likely to be lost in the New Year.

Instead, the eight-acre site, which lies south of the Tesco supermarket on Hewitt's Avenue, will accommodate 44 holiday lodges.

Planning permission  was granted in 2018, but the project stalled in the wake of a dispute over who owned the land.

However, this matter has now been resolved by the courts, paving the way for the trees to be felled subject to sign-off by North East Lincolnshire Council planners at a meeting on Wednesday (November 29).

The  wood is rich in wildlife. Because there are so many songbirds, it is said to have an unrivalled  dawn chorus in spring.

However, loss of the trees will result in loss of the birds and the site will fall silent. 

The applicant, Sean Henderson of Tetney, has not been required to submit a new planning application which would invite  fresh scrutiny both  of the fate of the trees and of other issues such as lorry movements with felled timber, mud deposits on a busy road and loss of biodiversity.

Instead, planners will be asked to authorise a Certificate of Lawfulness - an instrument that will allow fast-tracking of  the proposed development.

The target market for the lodges is described as being "the medium-high net worth Jaguar-Landrover sector".

The wood is home to numerous songbirds which will be lost if the trees are felled