COUNCILLORS have approved plans to turn a field into a glamping site after its owners warned pig farming was in its deepest crisis for 20 years.

East Riding Council’s Eastern Area Planning Sub-Committee approved plans to turn part of a Burshill cattle grazing field in Holderness into a three-pod glamping site yesterday.

Applicant Mrs Connor, a farmer who owns and works the site with her husband, said they lodged the plans in light of economic woes facing the sector.

She added only three cars would be allowed on site at any time after four locals objected, with one claiming the single track access road could become more dangerous.

The plans approved today are set to see three two-person pods built in the south of the field, with access from Burshill Carr Road.

The site is to the south of the hamlet of Burshill, less than 2km east of Tophill Low Nature Reserve and west of Hornsea.

Council officers recommended the plans for approval and the committee heard they had worked with the applicants to make them more acceptable.

Objections to the plans included fears over noise and disturbance from the site from one local living 120m away.

Others claimed a holiday park would not be suitable in the area and raised concerns over a lack of passing places and the presence of blind spots on roads leading to it.

But councillors heard the applicants had agreed to build earth mounds around the pods to dampen noise and light from them.

Mrs Connor said rules would be in place for those coming by car, including the three vehicle limit and the requirement to park at the site entrance.

She added cuts in farming subsidies due in 2024, forecast to put 30 per cent of farmers out of business, meant her family’s farm had to diversify.

The applicant told councillors: “We’ve farmed in Burshill for 40 years and we love living there.

“But agriculture’s going through huge changes, with pig farming in its worst crisis for 20 years.

“We’re determined to continue farming as our families always have.

“But with all this in mind we need to think about what will make our small business to survive.

“The field is currently grazed by some cattle but it is not being fully used, this would make it a profitable concern.

“We’re very mindful that we don’t want to impact on the rural idyll of the area, so we’re only proposing three pods which sleep two people each.

“No children will be allowed on site so nearby animals won’t be disturbed.

“This will offer couples a chance to have a break in the peace and calm of the countryside.”

Committee member Cllr Brian Skow, whose Mid Holderness ward covers the site, said it would help the area tap into the coronavirus ‘staycation’ boom.

The councillor said: “We’re only talking about three pods here, it’s not vast.

“We have to encourage tourism in this area and the pandemic’s changed holidays drastically in the last 18 months.

“Brandesburton Parish Council’s in favour of it and in that area the problems on the roads are more to do with lorries and tractors than cars.”