Last September I visited Lisa and Neil Mudie who run Mill Valley Yurts and Tipis, an eco friendly campsite, situated in a small wooded valley on the edge of Wadebridge, that they have been running for 3 and a half years. At that time they had just been told to close the campsite by a planning enforcement officer because they did not have planning permission.

Mill Valley has 4 yurts and a shepherds hut, and what with the recent rise in popularity of glamping it’s not surprising that they are open all year round and especially busy over the Winter period bringing much welcomed revenue into the area off season.

The site has two composting toilets and a small log cabin with 2 separate bathrooms each with a roll top bath. Their own borehole supplies the water and is heated by a wood-burning stove. They have a small forest garden on the site and cows, pigs, geese, chickens, ducks, and a goat. Visitors can experience life on a smallholding and see where their meat and eggs come from.

Lisa explained her ethos to me, she said, “Right from the start it was always our aim to create a site that would have a minimal impact and to give people a luxury camping experience whilst making them more aware of their carbon footprint as this is something which we feel really strongly about. It also makes them appreciate nature and the wildlife that’s around them. We have created this site; everything that we have used is recycled, bought locally or sourced from our own woodland and hedgerows. We have planted about 700 trees and put up a lot of bird, bat and owl boxes. We are also managing our own woodland for dormice.” Lisa went on to say, ‘Most of our visitors have written in our guest book about how the site has changed the way they want to live their lives. A lot of people have returned home and started growing their own veg and some have even bought some chickens.”

The Mill Valley field has been a camping and caravanning site for many years prior to Lisa and Neil buying the site, so in essence there hadn’t been a change in use, other than the fact that hundreds of caravans were not being towed down tiny country lanes to and from the site anymore. Lisa and Neil also offer a 25% discount to any guests that arrive by public transport; encouraging people to think about the impact their holiday has on the environment.

In the last 3 and a half years Mill Valley has had around 5000 visitors come and stay at the site, these holiday makers helping to boost our local economy.

I’m pleased to say that following the story posted on Wadebridge People, which received an unprecedented response from readers, Lisa and Neil also received an overwhelmingly positive response from the community and previous holiday makers that had stayed at Mill Valley.

3 months later Lisa and Neil were notified that permission had been granted. Lisa said, ”It was the best Christmas present!”

Lisa also said, “Thank you to all the local businesses that supported us and everyone that posted comments on wadebridge people in favour of our site... also, the Parish Council for acknowledging that Mill Valley is a successful business that employs local people... oh, and the Wadebridge Chamber of Commerce were also very helpful and finally the letters of support from our neighbours”

Lisa continued by saying. “We were lucky enough to have a brilliant planning consultant on the case so we didn't really come across any major problems... and the council seemed to acknowledge that sustainable businesses are the way forward.”