An appeal to expand Lyons Gate Caravan Park in Dorset with 40 static caravans has been dismissed. Planning Inspector Simon Hand ruled that placing the caravans on a woodland plot adjacent to the A352 near Dorchester would fundamentally alter the rural site's character. The applicant, Hop Farm Park (Kent Entertainment Ltd), argued the woodland was ancillary to the main park, but the inspector found that replacing woodland with permanent structures would double the developed footprint and introduce year-round residential use, constituting a material change of use. The appeal was dismissed.
