PLANS to site 108 holiday lodge caravans in a bid to provide “higher quality visitor accommodation” at Sandy Balls Holiday Village in Godshill have been given the go-ahead,

The application submitted to the New Forest National Park by Away Resorts Ltd was seeking permission to change of use of land to replace 225 touring pitches with a “lower density scheme” of holiday lodge caravans. The application has been granted subject to conditions.

Fifty three of the static holiday lodges would be used all year around on Four Acre field and the lower part of the Orchard while the other 55 would be used over nine months of year on the rest of the Orchard site and Northfield fields.

A spokesman for Away Resorts said: “We were thrilled to received the green light for our plans to introduce new holiday homes at Sandy Balls.

“The new accommodation will give us the opportunity to build on Sandy Balls’ reputation as a holiday village that offers visitors to the area a high-quality, woodland retreat experience that creates memories that last a lifetime.”

A statement included in the planing application said: “The proposed scheme will support the local economy by providing higher quality visitor accommodation at the park which can be enjoyed by guests all year round.

“This increase in the number of higher spending visitors will result in increased spending both within the park, allowing further investments in the park’s existing facilities, and outside the park in local shops, services and visitors attractions.”

The application said the proposed holiday lodges would “not harm” the character and appearance of the National Park landscape and the character and appearance of the site would be “enhanced” by replacing 225 “bright” touring caravans with 108 “muted timber lodges”.

It also said the timber clad would be “more in character with the forest setting” and would enhance the appearance.