Essex farm will become home to 15 dinosaurs
The council recently approved the plans
Marsh Farm in South Woodham Ferrers will become the home of 15 replica dinosaurs after plans were approved for a dinosaur park.
The attraction on the 50-acre farm will feature dinosaurs including Stegosaurus and Velociraptor. It will also contain a theatre hall.
Marsh Farm owner, James Sinclair, says the park will be a useful tool for schools and educating children, providing both “recreational and educational opportunities within a themed environment”.
Prior to Covid more than 4,000 primary school children visited the site annually as part of school trips.
South Woodham Ferrers town council had expressed concerns the new attraction will disrupt traffic along main roads as it will bring more visitors:
“This application for change of use is designed by the applicant’s own figures to attract a further 40,000 vehicles a year and thereby increase disruption to the local residents. Councillors already get complaints regarding the difficulty of driving out of the roads into Inchbonnie Road between Marsh Farm Road and Ferrers Road."
Figures on the farm's website say visitor numbers are currently around 250,000 a year.
Mr Sinclair, who took over the site in 2013, told the planning committee:
“The application for a dinosaur-based attraction allows us to move back to the educational roots of Marsh Farm supporting the national education curriculum of which dinosaurs are a part... it is not a standalone attraction but very much an integral part of Marsh Farm. There will be no change in the overall of use or character of the site as a farm attraction.”
The plans were approved 10 to one with two abstentions.