Critics say they're concerned about the impact of camping on wildlife at Bewl Water as well as the High Weald National Landscape. Pictures: Local Democracy Reporting Service.
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00:00 It's the largest reservoir in south-east England, sat between Kent and East Sussex.
00:07 Buell Water is an area of outstanding natural beauty with plenty of activities, and it doesn't
00:13 come as much of a surprise that its owners have opened up some fields for camping over
00:17 the past three years.
00:20 But this hasn't been popular with locals.
00:23 Their concern about the ecology impacts this could bring would decide being home to a sizeable
00:28 gull roost.
00:30 Campers by definition will be moving around, they won't be confined to their tents all
00:35 night.
00:36 They'll be moving whether it's to the washing facilities or whether it's walking around
00:39 the shoreline, and on dark nights they're invariably going to use torchlight.
00:45 If the gull roosts are disturbed and they move elsewhere, there is no comeback from
00:49 that.
00:50 Once they're gone, they're gone.
00:51 Yet the owners of the site want to make camping here permanent.
00:55 They say they have a management plan in place to protect the area.
00:59 We have a noise policy in force on the site.
01:02 Everyone has to be quiet, all music must be off by 10pm at night time, all loud music
01:08 etc must stop like that.
01:09 We have security on all night long, every night.
01:12 We spend a lot of time putting extra bird boxes up, bat boxes up.
01:17 We're going to introduce beehives this year.
01:19 We spend a lot of time making sure we fit in with the local area, the area of outstanding
01:25 national beauty.
01:26 There are two separate planning submissions, one for 80 pictures and a second for 4 yurts.
01:34 Now the planning permission would only allow for camping in the summer months.
01:38 That's because on a daylight today in spring the ground is incredibly soggy and to be quite
01:43 honest I don't think you'd get your car off to camping pictures.
01:48 Owners recommended the approval yet Wildern District Council's planning committee ultimately
01:53 voted against both, arguing environmental concerns.
01:57 Some might argue there are only going to be 80 tents, it's camping, it's not a hotel,
02:02 how bad could this be?
02:04 It can be amazingly bad.
02:07 It is an internationally renowned site, it is of national significance.
02:12 If we keep destroying this we will destroy the things that we should be protecting.
02:17 The decision can be appealed and it's not clear if owners will choose to do this, nor
02:22 what will happen for tourists already booked in for this summer.
02:26 Gabriel Morris, near Lambethurst.