THE owners of a Monmouthshire caravan park have launched a fresh bid for permission to stay open for longer during the year.

Visitors have been pitching up at the Glen Trothy Caravan and Camping Park in Mitchel Troy, near Monmouth, for more than 30 years.

The site alongside the River Trothy includes spaces for 74 motorhomes, 50 tents, 74 touring pitches and has a reception building and toilet block.

But when planning permission was granted by the former Monmouth District Council, the site was restricted from opening between October 31 and January 1 the following year.

The condition also required that all caravans be removed on or before October 31.

In 2016, an application to change the condition to November 30 – allowing an extra month of trading – was rejected by Monmouthshire County Council.

Officers said existing flooding issues, coupled with the amended condition, would lead to an “increased level of risk to life and property”.

There were also concerns that allowing additional time to use the site and not remove caravans would result in permanently sited caravans at the site, leading to an “adverse impact” on the area’s character.

But a new application submitted by Maguire Developments says the proposals would satisfy current visitor demand for extended holidays periods whilst touring through Monmouthshire.

A supporting document says: “The park was originally approved in 1987 for touring caravan and tent purposes.

“Static caravans are not permitted. This application does not seek to change the status of the park. Therefore, no caravans stationed at the site can realistically be classified as permanent.”

According to the report, the site owners have spent more than £300,000 redeveloping the park and have opened it up for use by the community.

It claims that some Mitchel Troy residents use the park’s laundrette while the showers are used regularly by a “well-known homeless gentleman” free of charge.

Around £75,000 has also been spent installing a flood barrier fence on the east bank of the River Trothy, and there are plans to spend more than £30,000 upgrading the existing play area.

“The applicant continually invests in the park infrastructure to make the business economically sustainable and attractive to the park’s visitors,” says the report.

The application will be considered by the council in the coming months.