David Fowler on the land he hopes will be an Olympic campsite
Farmer ‘disappointed’ as he is forced to halt plans for Hainault Olympic campsite
Jessica Earnshaw , Reporter
Monday, June 25, 2012
8:00 AM
A farmer who has stopped taking bookings for his proposed 6,000 person Olympic campsite, which has not yet received planning permission, says he has been left “massively disappointed”.
David Fowler, who was left frustrated after his original plan for an 8,000-person campsite in Forest Farm, Forest Road, Hainault was rejected, submitted a smaller proposal for his land which has yet to be considered by Redbridge Council.
He said: “The planning application is taking too long and it has become a headache. The project is not quite dead in the water, but I haven’t been given a date a decision will be reached.
“I am carrying on with the planning application as it may become a necessity during the Olympics, maybe to house volunteers, and we can adapt our current application at the last minute.”
The farmer had set up a website where Olympic visitors could book the site for £16.50 per person per day for a two man tent, but he stopped taking bookings a week ago.
Mr Fowler, who is also considering running a park and ride scheme on the land, said: “The car park would be a very good option but I am massively disappointed that the camp site hasn’t worked out.
“We have received a number of nasty comments about increased noise and traffic, which we had already dealt with in our application, plus we hoped to raise money for charity.
“We also spoke to our neighbours, and only one continued to disapprove, which is irritating after the amount of work I have put in. Therefore it would be silly to pull the plug completely.”
The plans, which were turned down last year, would have seen space for more than 4,000 tents, giant screens, food stalls and a marquee with a bar and entertainment.
Mr Fowler had already received permission from the council to sell drink and host entertainment on his land as part of the application.
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1 comments
seems rather strange that this is taking sooooooo long when Hainault Forest was given permission within weeks....this olympic games is all being done for corporate by corporate.
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ruby
Monday, June 25, 2012