A camping pod similar to the ones proposed for Crowden
National park bosses have given the go-ahead to a plan for camping pods on the route of the Pennine Way.
The 10 wooden pods will be installed at Crowden campsite in the Peak District, the first to gain approval in the national park.
The pods are shaped like tents but made of insulated wood and steel, with an external appearance of wooden shingles and are often referred to as part of the ‘glamping’ movement – a more luxurious approach to the rigours of camping.
Similar pods have been installed at two sites in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park and the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales also have sites with the pods.
A spokesperson for the Peak District National Park Authority, whose planning committee approved the Crowden installation, said: “Campers use them like tents, bringing their own cooking and sleeping gear, and these particular ones would be sheltered by trees at an existing campsite run by the Camping and Caravanning Club.
“The planning committee agreed that although camping pods are not specifically referred to in their policies, they should be treated in planning terms like mini static caravans.
“Though static caravans would not normally be allowed in the national park, the planners decided these pods could be made an exception, provided they were limited in size, number and location.”
Committee chairman Councillor Lesley Roberts said: “The proposed pods would create relatively little intrusion on the landscape compared to caravans.
The Camping and Caravanning Club site at Crowden
“They appear more akin to tents, though many modern tents can be much larger than the proposed pods and often more intrusive because of their bright colours.
“We want to encourage more recreation for people from all backgrounds in the national park and the pods would support that, particularly as they would provide economical accommodation close to the Pennine Way.”
The proposed pods would be around four metres long, 2.5 metres high and 2.4 metres wide, accessed by bark chip pathways.
