Work begins on chalet park near Barnard Castle, Teesdale Mercury

WORK has started on a multi-million pound chalet park near Barnard Castle – and the developers have not ruled out building a luxury hotel complex nearby.

Planning permission was granted in the early 1990s for 73 holiday chalets at Humbleton Camp, off the A67.

Plans were also approved for a 120-bedroomed four-star hotel, conference centre, swimming pool, country club and 18-hole golf course.

The hotel scheme promised to be one of the biggest in the region, but the project has since been mothballed.

However, work is beginning on the holiday chalets part of the venture.

The log cabins, which will sit on 27 acres of land, will be built in several phases.

When complete, it is estimated up to 580 residents could stay in the chalet park. About forty full-time staff would also be employed.

Planning consultant Steve Barker, of Darlington firm Prism Planning, said: “We aim to build a pod of about three or four chalets at a time.

“Hopefully, people will visit the sales office and buy them – but the completion date for all of the chalets depends on market forces. It could take several years.”

Mr Barker added that although planning permission had elapsed for the hotel and golf course scheme, another similar application could be submitted in the future.

He said: “We’d need a fresh planning application, but our client would still love to see it built. It would bring a lot of jobs and provide a big economic boost to the area.

“The current economic climate isn’t right for these kinds of projects, but there’s nothing to say we won’t be having a conversation about it again in the future.”

Dairy farmer John Richardson, from Whorlton, owns the 235-acre former Army camp.

It was estimated that the entire scheme, including the hotel and golf course, would create 400 jobs.

However, the plans were put on hold in 2002 after Mr Richardson suffered badly from the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Construction teams have now started work on access to the chalets, clearing trees and excavation of foundations for cabins.

Prism Planning last week submitted an application to alter the timescale for landscaping work.

Mr Barker said: “When planning permission was granted, conditions meant landscaping had to be done before the log cabins were put in place. In 99.9 per cent of cases, it’s the other way around – landscaping is done afterwards.

“It’s a simple administrative mistake and we’re applying to change it.”

Mr Barker said the development would help to encourage people to visit Teesdale. “Teesdale is beautiful and it would be cracking for the area,” he said.

However, in 2007, several residents said they were concerned that the development would cause traffic problems.

But the developers at the time said construction work would improve visibility on the road.