160 new jobs to be created as Great Ayton tourism scheme receives support

Plans for a green holiday village in the Great Ayton and Stokesley area are due to be considered by Hambleton District Council planners on 23 June.

Angrove Country Park will feature 179 chalets in an environmentally sustainable development. The scheme, located between Great Ayton and Stokesley, also includes plans for fishing ponds and a central hub with a café and cycle hire.

The development is set to create around 160 new jobs on the site and boost the local economy, with the increase in visitor numbers expected to deliver around £5.6m of visitor spending to Great Ayton and a total, cumulative economic impact of £24.4m per year.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire who is supporting the scheme, said: “A quality development that helps to promote the cycling offer of Yorkshire and looks to attract visitors all year round would be a great fit for many of the people who are coming to Yorkshire.

“It has the added benefit that it will support the local economy of Hambleton.”

The proposal for Angrove Country Park, which is being put forward by owner and local farmer Alan Petch, went through an initial series of modifications following a round of public consultation last year.

Further changes include increased landscaping and the introduction of a phasing plan that will see the scheme developed more gradually over the next six to eight years.

If planners approve the scheme, tree planting would start this autumn and building work could start ready for opening in 2017.

Planning consultant Steve Hesmondhalgh, who has advised Mr Petch on his proposal for Angrove Country Park, commented: “We have worked closely with council planners and the proposal is better for having been through that collaborative process.”

“The scheme that will shortly go to planning committee is an excellent form of farm diversification that will deliver both tourism jobs and much needed accommodation for cyclists and other visitors to the area.

“Cycling is playing an increasingly important role in the tourist economy of the region. The only problem we’d identified was a lack of accommodation and Angrove Country Park will go a long way towards addressing this shortage in the area.”

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