Bruce Sinclair, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans for a seasonal mobile sauna at a Welsh beauty spot have been rejected.
Brawdy-based Wildwater Sauna Ltd applied through Geraint John Planning Ltd for permission to put a temporary mobile sauna at the Boat Yard, Pwllgwaelod Beach, Dinas Cross in north Pembrokeshire.
A supporting statement said the sauna would operate from December to May each year, with permission sought for three years.
The national park warned in a pre-application response that the sauna “would be highly conspicuous from both the coast path and the beach, appearing visually dominant within the surrounding landscape,” and could damage the area’s character and the National Park’s special qualities.
However, the application says it was acknowledged that design revisions through sympathetic materials would “alleviate” the impact from the siting of the sauna, and that a public house, the ‘Sailors Safety’ is operating further east of the site, “demonstrating that there is an established commercial and tourism operation at Pwllgwaelod Beach”.
It added that the beach location was essential because of the sauna’s direct relationship with the beach and therefore suited the proposal.
An officer’s report recommending refusal said an unauthorised sauna was operating at the boat yard, but stressed it was being investigated separately and was unrelated to this application and applicant.
On this application, it said that, while the scheme would “bring modest economic benefits to the area,” it would be sited wholly within a flood zone, where developments such as the proposal would only be appropriate if “it is deemed essential to the Development Plan strategy to regenerate an existing settlement or achieve key economic or environmental objectives”.
The report added that the site was in open countryside, was not allocated for visitor or recreational development, was outside any settlement regeneration initiative and was not needed to meet a specific key economic or environmental objective of [the plan].
The national park refused the application on those grounds.
The proposed unit would measure 3.57 metres high, 2.5 metres wide and 6.5 metres long, use charcoal-coloured treated timber and seat up to 10 people.
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