National Trust Secures Extended Use for Overflow Car Park

An overflow parking facility situated at a scenic location in north Devon will be utilized by the National Trust for an additional 52 days each year. Planning officials from North Devon Council, exercising delegated authority, approved the trust’s application to operate the Baggy Point site in Croyde as a parking area for 80 days annually. The trust, which also manages a primary car park with 90 spaces, previously operated this overflow location for 28 days per year under a permitted development provision. North Devon National Landscape, previously known as AONB, expressed opposition to the trust’s original plan to utilize the land for 120 days. The organization stated that an additional 110 vehicles parking at any given time throughout the year could potentially create a visual disturbance and harm the grass, resulting in “a scar on the landscape” during the colder months of autumn and winter. Georgeham Parish Council similarly opposed the proposal, asserting that an increase in vehicles and the utilization of the trust’s parking facilities would exert an unacceptable strain on local roadways. Residents in the vicinity who did not support expanded use of the overflow parking facility criticized the trust for exceeding its 28-day usage limit. The applicants acknowledged that they had utilized the car park beyond its authorized allowance. Records indicate that since 2021, the site has been in use for over 130 days annually. The National Trust expressed willingness to comply with a planning stipulation prohibiting the use of the overflow area from November through February, thereby allowing grass to regenerate and mitigating concerns about visual impact.