DISGRUNTLED neighbours living next to Warwick Castle say it is being turned into a ‘theme park’.
Residents on Stuart Close – one of the roads closest to the 1,000-year-old castle – have hit out at plans to build holiday rentals on land alongside the Avon across the river from the castle.
Castle owners Merlin Entertainment Ltd are seeking permission to build a total of 20 semi-detached lodges, five tree houses and a facilities building on the site, known as Foxes Study.
Castle bosses also want to keep their luxury camping tents – also known as ‘glamping’ – on a permanent basis, although they will only be used by guests during the summer between May and September. A license for glamping was granted on a five month temporary basis earlier this year by Warwick District Council.
But Chris Edwards – who lives in Stuart Close in the house closest to the historic attraction – says she is concerned about the impact the latest proposal would have on neighbours.
She said: “My husband and I are extremely concerned about the impact it will have on residents through noise levels. None of our neighbours are happy about this proposed development and are all exceedingly concerned about the tremendous change in usage of our castle grounds.
“This is not Alton Towers, an old house in land to be exploited. It’s not Legoland. It is England’s premier medieval castle.
“Granting permission for glamping was the first step in turning this historic heritage site into a theme park. And granting this application would be another nail in the coffin of Warwick as a historic town and of the castle as a place abounding in history.”
Merlin Entertainment had not responded to our request for a comment at the time of going to press.
* BOOKWORMS buried their heads to set a new world record at Warwick Castle.
To set the record, 427 parents all read to their children from the same chapter of the same book at the same time for ten minutes.
They were led by Terry Deary, author of the best-selling book series, Horrible Histories, and it was from his ‘The Measly Middle Ages’ tale the parents read.
The record-setting event was part of the Good Morning Britain ‘Just Read’ campaign launched to inspire children to read more and to encourage parents to spend more time reading to their children. It was broadcast live on ITV.
Horrible Histories has been a popular attraction at Warwick Castle for the past two years and will be returning next Easter.
