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New move to boost Rugby tourism has military twist

The enthusiasm for camping as part of a visit to Rugby’s Tanks, Trucks and Firepower event has helped to inspire a bid to create a year-round holiday hotspot on the outskirts of Dunchurch.
By Richard Howarth
Published 4th Sep 2023, 12:30 BST
Updated 4th Sep 2023, 12:31 BST
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There have been a number of applications for holiday accommodation around the village that have yet to become reality but now Andrew Baker, one of the architects of the August Bank Holiday weekend, has put forward a bold scheme to turn old agricultural buildings into holiday lets, together with land for camping.

While there will be an appeal for fans of the show and its military themes, the planning application suggests it will also offer an opportunity to groups such as scouts and guides, as well as for the general holiday market.

The new application to Rugby Borough Council – ref R23/0669 on the council’s planning portal – is for Toft Cottage Farm, which Mr Baker now owns in addition to the land around it used for the show.

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A Google Street View image of Toft Cottage Farm showing how the farmhouse and the buildings to the back of the site can be separated out in line with the planning application for holiday lets.A Google Street View image of Toft Cottage Farm showing how the farmhouse and the buildings to the back of the site can be separated out in line with the planning application for holiday lets.
A Google Street View image of Toft Cottage Farm showing how the farmhouse and the buildings to the back of the site can be separated out in line with the planning application for holiday lets.

It represents a bid for conversion of the existing agriculture buildings to nine holiday lets and change of use of the adjacent field to provide 25 tents and a parking area.

A design and access statement supplied with the application says: ‘The proposed ‘military’ themed campsite will also provide an educational element for guests with ex-military vehicles and equipment on display with information provided about the history of each; the educational aspect of the site will also prove beneficial to local groups such as cadets, scouts and girl guides.

‘In addition to proving beneficial to the existing business, the proposal, set in the Warwickshire countryside, is an ideal source of accommodation for tourists of the area.’

The holiday lets will each be for two people and will have their own cooking and living spaces, along with en suite bathrooms. Seven will be at ground level.

In a further military twist, the report adds: ‘Guests who are camping will also have access to sanitary facilities in the form of ex-military shower and toilet blocks (formerly used in Afghanistan) located on the southern boundary of site.’

It points out that existing rules allow landowners to offer camping for 28 days a year without permission, hence the ability of the show to already offer a camping option.