Neighbours complain of noisy sex and awful karaoke from prohibited 'glampsite'
A luxury 'glampsite' which sparked outrage with neighbours due to its late-night parties, karaoke, and noisy sex, has been ordered to shut down.
The site, set up in the back garden of a house and advertised as a 'romantic escape' for couples, was deemed by planning chiefs to be causing too much noise and disturbance after neighbours said they had to uncomfortably listen to 'sex in thin tents'.
They also had to put up with off-key singing to 80s hits - like Islands in the Stream - as guests at the glamping site enjoyed karaoke and loud parties.
Liz Feay, who owns 'Secret Garden Glamping', set up two big tents in the garden of her three-bedroom £405,000 semi-detached house in Lymington, Hants, without receiving planning permission. After running the business for four years, she asked for permission to use it for five months each year.
But Mrs Feay's request has been turned down by New Forest District Council [NFDC]. The council's planners said the tents' canvas material 'lacks soundproofing', which means the noise 'emanates' through and adds to the 'significant intensification' of noise in the residential area.
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They also cited the 'party atmosphere' that fed-up neighbours have had to live next to.
The luxury 'glampsite' offers a 'romantic escape' for couples (David Clarke/Solent News)On Booking.com, a two-night stay in one of these 'luxury' tents costs £206. Former guests have described it as a 'little gem in the heart of Lymington', 'exceptional', and a 'perfect gateway weekend'.
According to its website, Secret Garden Glamping claims to provide a taste of 'life's simple pleasures'. They offer spaces for guests to relax, rest, and play. However, local residents don't feel the same way.
Mel Sims, 51, wrote: "I live directly behind this garden and see the tent top from my windows. I bought this house last year, thinking it was in a quiet cul de sac."
"But when people come to stay there...the noise from the garden/field during the summer is often unbearable, often past midnight. There is music, loud chat, sex in the thin tents we all awkwardly hear, and swearing. I didn't intend to back onto a glamping or campsite."
Another neighbour, Daniel Wells, said: "As this is a glampsite explicitly aimed at holidaying guests, socialising continues through the working week, causing sleep disturbance for me, my wife, and our son whose bedroom is at the back of the house."
"The most upsetting part is that on several occasions we've had to close the window to block out the sound of a couple engaging in acts of a sexual nature; the fabric walls of a tent simply do not, and cannot contain."
"There was a karaoke machine there for a time and on one notable sunny afternoon whilst trying to enjoy our garden with friends, we had to instead listen to a couple blaring out 'Islands in the Stream' over and over, deluded in thinking they were Dolly and Kenny. This same karaoke machine was used top volume at 6am by a child yelling into the microphone."
The NFDC refused Mrs Feay's planning application. A council case officer said: "Whilst the site is fairly large, the area where the tents have been located is in a part of the garden close to nearby residential properties. This has resulted in an intensification of the use of this rear garden area, with associated increases in the levels of noise and disturbance experienced by neighbouring properties."
"The tents are constructed only of a thin canvas material and therefore lack soundproofing, meaning noise disturbance emanates not just from the outside garden areas of the application site but also from within the tents. It is considered that the glamping use has resulted and would continue to result in a much more intensive use than would be expected of a single household, and this is evidenced by the complaints and objections raised by neighbouring occupiers."
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The home in Lymington, New Forest, which has the 'Glamping' site at the bottom of the garden (David Clarke/Solent News)The council explained that while guests themselves won't have privacy issues, she said: "However, with holiday guests often returning to the site later in the evening, maximising the use of the outdoor space whilst in holiday mode, and where the playing of music and a party atmosphere are more likely than when compared to a normal ancillary domestic use."
The case officer pointed out that even though the site is only active from May to September, this is also the 'same period' that 'neighbouring gardens would most likely be used'.
Rejecting the application, the council wrote: "Overall, it is considered that the planning application should be refused due to the adverse impact of the proposed use on the amenities of the occupants of neighbouring residential properties. In particular, the proposal would lead to a significant intensification in the use of a quiet rear garden area, resulting in a harmful level of noise and disturbance that would significantly exceed what would typically be expected within a predominantly residential area."
A letter sent to Mrs Faey stated that the NFDC 'refuses to grant permission' for her garden to be used as a glampsite. The 'reasons for refusal' included the 'material intensification in the use of a quiet rear garden area' and the 'recreational impacts of the proposed development on the New Forest Special Area of Conservation'.
Mrs Feay - who describes herself as a 'born and bred New Forest girl' with a 'genuine love for the area and the people who live here' - chose not to comment. She has the right to appeal the decision.
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