A fire at the former Pontins holiday site in Hemsby this weekend has brought greater scrutiny to an already controversial topic.

The 22 acre site could be redeveloped into 190 homes, as well as hosting a retail development and holiday accommodation.

The plans were entered to the Great Yarmouth Borough Council in June 2018 by the owners of the land, the Northern Trust Company.

The application followed a public exhibition of the plans which took place in February 2018, however residents have expressed via the council’s planning portal that largely they would like the site to be kept as a tourism accommodation.

A month after the application, Natural England contacted Northern Trust to raise concerns over the quantity of green space in the plans, and whether there would be enough space to exercise dogs.

Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis has written to planners asking them to reject the scheme saying: “There is considerable will among the local people, to find a long-term solution to the site, however, that does not necessarily mean that this application is the correct one.”