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BEACH FURY
Eyesore caravans block our idyllic seaside views & spark traffic chaos – now bungling council is building MORE it’s hell
For locals, the decision has attracted strong views from both sides
FUMING locals have told how eyesore caravans block their idyllic seaside views and spark travel chaos.
And the park will soon be home to 91 more static caravans, a decision which has caused anger amongst locals.
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The application sparked a heated disagreement between council officers and councillors, with the latter rejecting the proposed developments.
A lengthy appeals process ensued over the expansion of Alberta Caravan Park in Whitstable, Kent, resulting in an eye-popping £99,000 legal bill.
But locals have slammed the idea.
Deirdre Brawn, 81, has lived in the town for more than 50 years and is devastated about the effect the new site will have on the safety of the road and the wildlife.
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She said: "This road is dangerous, especially in the summer.
"If you get an accident on the main road you get all the traffic through this road - and in the summer when the holiday parks are open the traffic is horrendous.
"And, if they are going to build over there they will have lorries, mud.
"We get a lot of wildlife on the field, like swans.
"There used to be horses but they've got rid of those.
"We get all sorts of wildlife, what is going to happen to them?
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"How they have passed it I do not know because it gets waterlogged in the summer, which is when you get the swans swimming out there.
The great-grandmother is also furious about the bill the council will be saddled with, she said: "It's just not right - I don't think that's right at all, I think that's disgusting.
"That means our poll tax will go up too."
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Fellow octogenarian Anne Williams, 83 also slammed the developments.
Anne Williams, 83, is similarly disappointed by the news, she said: "It is going to be horrible.
"It's such a shame to take up so much of the field.
"If it was houses, people have got to live somewhere - but caravans?
"I think we have enough.
She added: "We didn't know for a long time what was going to happen.
"They say it's progress, but I can't see how it's progress - it's just going to ruin the little bit of green we've got left.
"I've been here about 50 or 60 years - it's all changed, it will never be the same as it was, but it's all down to money.
"Whitstable got popular, all the prices went up, all the Londoners came down - you can't stop progress, but if it could be stopped that would be good."
It is going to be horrible. It's such a shame to take up so much of the field
Anne Williams
Others have defended the expansion, arguing that the area will become more accessible to hard-up Brits who want to call the peaceful seaside town their home.
"I have only lived here a short while myself," Rina Guillon, 57, said.
"The traffic will probably get a little bit worse, but as part of a caravan park, I live in one myself, so it's hard to make a comment on other people moving in to one.
"It would be quite hypocritical to say 'no' when I live on one myself.
"I think the council should be spending money on better things, because the local area will benefit because people will be spending money more in the shops and in Whitstable, so as a community I think it's not a bad thing.
"But the council really should be spending their money on better things.
"We've got nurses going to foodbanks, and they're spending money on that."
Local business owner Bhupinder Singh Rai, 65, who runs the local fish and chip shop, is also happy about the news, he said: "It will depend on when it all happens and how long it will take.
"People coming on holidays coming here always come in the shop - I don't know why people are upset.
"It will be busier and it will bring in more visitors - this is a good thing!"
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In a statement, a spokesperson from Canterbury City Council said: "The planning application for the expansion of the Alberta caravan park was rejected by our Planning Committee and decided by a government-appointed planning inspector on appeal."
The Sun Online has reached out to Alberta Holiday Park for comment.
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