Leisure resort operator Center Parcs is to appeal against a decision by Mid Bedfordshire district council to refuse planning permission to build a holiday village in Woburn.

The decision in July to reject its bid for a fifth site - a £160m 700-chalet holiday village in Warren Wood - was due to its feared impact on the surrounding green belt land.

Mid Bedfordshire’s Development Control Committee ruled at the time of the decision that there were no “very special circumstances” attached to the project that would outweigh the potential harm to the area.

The appeal will now be heard by a government planning inspector, which is likely to take at least a year.

Center Parcs owner Blackstone was unavailable for comment.

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By Tom Bill

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