A PROPOSED caravan park on the outskirts of York looks unlikely to get built, after planning officials came out against the scheme.

Plans have been submitted to City of York Council for the 91-pitch site, with ten camping pods, on Northfield Lane in Upper Poppleton.

Reports published ahead of a meeting this Thursday show that officials do not believe the development would be right for the greenbelt, and they are urging councillors not to back it.

Landowner Stephen Otley revealed plans last summer for a 117-pitch park, which he said would deliver a £3.7 million boost for York, though he later reduced the number of pitches during discussions with the council.

He said the caravan park, which would be called Wheatlands Wood Touring Park, would help meet a demand in the market for "high end" caravan holidaying in York.

While tourism bodies like Make it York and Welcome to Yorkshire have supported the plan, saying it would be good for visitors to the city, other people have raised questions about whether there is enough demand to support a brand new site of this size, the papers show.

At the same time, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, and Upper and Nether Poppleton Parish Councils, have all objected saying that the large-scale development would damage the quiet countryside area.

They are also worried about its location on Northfield Lane, a narrow road that cannot easily accommodate two way traffic and shares its access on to the busy A59 with the Park and Ride, the garden centre and nearby restaurant.

On top of that, six homes nearby would be surrounded by the site on three sides, if the new caravan park were allowed risking noise, disturbance and light pollution for those residents, Upper Poppleton's parish council have added.

It is the greenbelt location which has swayed the recommendation away from the proposal, with the official planning report concluding that there are no "very special circumstances" which would justify building on that land.

At the same meeting, the committee will be urged to approve a separate application for development at an existing city caravan park.

The owners of York Caravan Park Stockton Lane want to replace six all-weather surfaced camping pitches with six wooden camping pods - which would stay in place all year but only be occupied when the park is open.

Although the site is also in the greenbelt, the planning report concludes that in this case the benefits to tourism and in averting the need for new sites in rural areas, mean there are enough special circumstances to allow it to be built.