Riverview Forres: 57 holiday pitches approved as residents query fee rise

Two stories often travel together on UK parks: a planning win for more holiday statics, and existing residents who feel the cost or disruption will land on them. Riverview Country Park at Mundole, near Forres in Moray, is the latest example. Moray Council has granted planning permission for 57 new static holiday caravan pitches. Days later, the Forres Gazette reported residents who say a proposed permanent £20-a-month pitch fee rise would help fund infrastructure tied to that expansion.

This post sticks to what those reports verified. It is not legal advice, and it is not a verdict on either side. It is a clear read for owners watching how planning consent and pitch-fee conversations can collide.

What Moray Council approved

Reporting in the Forres Gazette (21 September 2026) states that Moray Council has granted planning permission for Camelo Parks Ltd / Riverview Country Park to add 57 static holiday caravan pitches on land to the south of the existing site.

The park dates back to the 1960s. At the time of the report it had 128 residential caravan pitches, 36 holiday static caravan pitches and 20 touring pitches. The corporate picture described in coverage links management to Camelo Parks Ltd, with the corporate entity tied to Riverview Country Park Ltd (associated with B&T Country Parks Holdco Limited).

A council spokesperson said the site lies predominantly within an area identified for tourism use, that the proposal is acceptable and does not represent overdevelopment, and that residential amenity was considered acceptable given scale, siting and separation.

Transport Scotland and the council transportation section raised no objection. Transportation recommended measures including a passing place, on-site parking requirements, an electric vehicle charging point, visibility splays at the access, and controls so surface water and loose material are not carried onto the public road. Park roads are privately owned; the council said upkeep rests with the landowner.

On drainage, Moray Flood Risk Management raised no objection. The proposal includes a sustainable drainage system for surface water, plus a private packaged foul water treatment plant and soakaway. The council said drainage arrangements were considered sufficient.

Objectors had also raised wartime contamination (RAF Balnageith). The Contaminated Land Section raised no objection; safe development was described as the developer's responsibility.

A previous application for 78 plots had been refused. The council said the current application was amended and materially different, with earlier issues addressed through design, layout and supporting information. Conditions include no felling of existing trees on site, appropriate drainage during construction, written agreement of decking details before works start, and increased landscaping.

Many objections focused on roads (including the Mundole road toward Findhorn Bridge and the A96), sewerage and drainage problems, site management, and the park's character. Residents quoted in coverage describe Riverview as predominantly residential and retirement-oriented, with many over-50s who moved there expecting a quieter residential feel rather than a holiday-led expansion. The council's public line was that many operational and contractual issues sit outside planning.

What residents say about the £20-a-month rise

A follow-up Forres Gazette piece (25 September 2026) reported resident claims that they are being asked to pay for an expansion they do not want.

According to that report, one anonymous resident said that once planning was approved the owner issued a consultation to the 132 residential homes, seeking a £20-a-month permanent pitch fee increase to fund £750,000 of improvements including a new sewage treatment plant and road repairs. The resident said this was despite consultation wording stating that future expansion, new pitches and infrastructure did not form part of that improvement programme.

The same resident argued that Moray Council planning documents show the foul water treatment plant sized for "57 static caravans with a total of 228 inhabitants", and that the council made the plant a mandatory condition of approval. He also pointed to council material stating road maintenance is the landowner's private obligation, and to an Ombudsman-related confirmation (as reported) that Moray Council has acknowledged roads and lighting in disrepair.

Another anonymous resident told the Gazette they did not object to planned improvements in principle but worried about scale, disruption, cost, and being asked to contribute to assets belonging to someone else. They said the owner apparently expected a large amount of work by April, including play-park upgrades and the sewage plant, and called for clearer breakdowns, timescales and phasing so essential work is prioritised and disruption (including over Christmas and New Year) is reduced. They also raised concern that consultation fine print could be read as support for the payment once signed.

These are residents' claims as reported. They are not independently adjudicated here.

What the park has said publicly

The Gazette reported a Riverview spokesperson saying park owner Thomas Small flew over from Ireland and held two open forums for residents, that questions of the kind the paper asked were put to residents, that residents are fully aware of what is happening, and that the office is always open to discuss issues.

That is the park's public position in the coverage: forums held, explanations given, door open. The paper also asked when improvements would happen, what they would entail, how disruption would be minimised, and why residents were being asked for an extra £20 a month. The published reply focused on the forums and open-door message rather than a line-by-line cost schedule in the article itself.

Why this matters for static and residential owners elsewhere

You do not need to live in Mundole to recognise the pattern:

Planning and pitch fees are different tracks. Councils decide land use. Pitch-fee rises, consultations and who pays for private infrastructure sit in the contract and ownership relationship. A planning approval does not automatically settle who funds every pipe and pothole.

Holiday expansion on mixed sites is sensitive. Where residential or long-stay communities sit beside holiday stock, new holiday pitches can feel like a change of character even when planners call the land tourism-appropriate.

Infrastructure conditions travel with the consent. Treatment plants, drainage and access works often appear as planning conditions for new pitches. Existing residents will ask, fairly, whether those costs should sit with the developer, with existing pitch fees, or somehow with both.

Transparency reduces heat. Open forums help. Written breakdowns of what is statutory, what is discretionary, what serves existing pitches and what serves new holiday bases help more. Vague "improvement programme" language without a clear split invites mistrust.

Age and vulnerability matter in tone. Coverage describes an older residential community. Permanent fee rises land harder there. That does not decide the legal position; it does decide how carefully operators should communicate.

If your own park is consulting on fee rises tied to capital works, keep the paperwork. Ask which items are required by planning for new development, which fix existing disrepair, and how long any "permanent" uplift is expected to run. Compare the consultation wording with the planning documents where you can. Seek independent advice if sums are large.

Soft options if fees or park change are pushing a sale decision

Pitch-fee pressure and major site works are two of the most common reasons UK owners quietly reconsider whether to stay. That decision does not need to be made in a rush, and it does not require taking one newspaper narrative as gospel.

If you own a static caravan or lodge at Riverview or elsewhere and want a calm, independent sense of value before you decide, Static Caravan Buyer can talk it through with no obligation. Call 0800 644 5000 or visit staticcaravanbuyer.com.

Key takeaways

• Moray Council has approved 57 new static holiday pitches at Riverview Country Park, Mundole, Forres, after an amended application (a previous 78-pitch scheme was refused).
• The park currently mixes residential, holiday static and touring pitches; many objectors describe a retirement-oriented residential community.
• Council responses dismissed many infrastructure objections for planning purposes, while noting private roads and operational matters sit with the landowner or outside planning.
• Residents quoted by the Forres Gazette say a proposed permanent £20-a-month pitch fee rise (£240 a year) would fund around £750,000 of works they link to expansion, including a treatment plant sized in planning papers for the new holiday pitches.
• The park says the owner held two open forums, that residents are aware of plans, and that the office is open to discuss issues.
• Owners elsewhere should separate planning consent from fee liability, and ask for clear written splits between new-development costs and existing-site maintenance.

Static Caravan Buyer Team