A PLANNING battle to extend an accommodation unit at the New Forest Water Park has hit the buffers following a failed appeal.

Applicant Mark Jury had challenged the refusal decision made by New Forest District Council’s (NFDC) planning committee for plans to carry out the extension to the club house at the site off Ringwood Road, near Fordingbridge.

Councillors rejected the application in August last year as they believed the 60 per cent floorspace increase in the proposals to add further accommodation space was not considered sustainable development.

They also raised concerns about the size, design, bulk and mass of the proposed scheme in its rural setting.

A government-appointed planning inspector sided with the council and dismissed Mr Jury’s appeal.

A report detailing this outcome was presented to NFDC’s planning committee when they met earlier this month.

It said: “In dismissing the appeal the Inspector made the following points:

“The additional extended family accommodation was not sustainable in this location and there was no overriding need for additional manager floorspace. The inspector took note of the current level of staffing floorspace available to serve the business.

“Provision of an extended family dwelling (to cater for the adult son and partner) would lead to additional traffic to access every day services and the needs of any occupiers and was clearly unsustainable.”

A separate planning application for a different part of the large site to build a clubhouse and accommodation for the fishery

manager was also refused by NFDC and dismissed on appeal last year.