11:30 am, September 14, 2022
A car dealership believes it has found an innovative new way of making money after it applied for planning permission to build two small holiday lets.
Croyde Motors is located in one of the Devon’s most renowned seaside locations with tourists flocking to the picturesque village every summer.
With that in mind, the dealership has submitted proposals for expansion that would see it cash it on its prime location.
The firm is seeking the green light to expand with an additional car showroom as well as two ‘small-scale’ holiday lets, DevonLive reports.
The applicants say the development will complement the current premises and also allow it to cater for increased sales of EVs over the coming years.
They also believe there is a gap in the local market for smaller holiday lets, which they could fill.
They said: ‘Tourism is recognised in the [local] plan as very important for the parish, and tourists need to sleep somewhere in the parish, but the ideal accommodation would not be second homes or large holiday lets – both of which remove potential family homes for residents from the market – but small holiday lets which can be occupied on short-term lets all year round and boost the local economy.
‘Such small-scale holiday lets would be centrally located in the village (to avoid excessive car usage) and ideally linked to an existing business which can manage them effectively (for example to minimise noise disturbance).
‘That is exactly what is here proposed, i.e. two small holiday lets owned and run by Croyde Motors, thus helping the viability of this historic business and its continued existence as a source of employment all-year round in the centre of Croyde.
‘Tourist numbers staying the same, the provision of these two holiday lets in the commercial centre of the village will free two houses somewhere else in the parish, perhaps larger and in more residential settings, from holiday use, creating the potential for these houses to go back to local or principal residency.’
The local planning committee will rule on the proposals at a later date.
