A developer behind a contentious holiday park on the edge of Yaxham has assured villagers his latest park development will not become “cheap housing”. Tim Hay and Pablo Dimoglou's plans for a 25 holiday lodges and a caravan and camping site in a village near Dereham met with massive opposition when it was proposed last year.

A developer behind a contentious holiday park on the edge of Yaxham has assured villagers his latest park development will not become “cheap housing”.

Tim Hay and Pablo Dimoglou's plans for a 25 holiday lodges and a caravan and camping site in a village near Dereham met with massive opposition when it was proposed last year.

Their latest scheme was still met with some opposition, but won over Breckland Council's planning committee.

Yesterday, Mr Hay said they now hoped to make the best of the site for the village.

He said the site, in Dereham Road at Yaxham, would not become housing and he hoped the sewerage issue could be solved by getting the park linked to the mains, which they had now applied to Anglian Water to do.

And he said it would become the village's biggest employer as the lodges are built over the next five years

Critics of the scheme were concerned the development would just end up as housing, would affect the River Tud if there is insufficient sewerage treatment, affect farmland and that a farm shop was just a sweetener.

Mr Hay said: “It is not cheap housing, it is a holiday park.

“The lodges will be maintenance free and bought by someone like a bank manager from Cambridge who wants somewhere to go at the weekend.

“We will consider letting them to others or letting the owner let them, but the planning permission is for holiday lodges.”

To concerns about road safety he said they were pleased with the entrance to the park and said he felt the danger in the road was on the bend further towards Dereham.

And he said the farm shop would stay, a new coffee shop being built would be opening in the New Year and that they would become Yaxham's biggest employer.

In total there will be 25 lodges, 13 in one field and 12 in another, to be built over five years. There will be three fishing lakes, 15 touring caravan points, 15 tent places and a new orchard.

Mr Hay, who lives in Cringleford and drives a Ferrari, bought his first caravan park aged 24. He has won tourism and conservation awards for his others parks in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, he said.