Approval has been given for a trio of timber cabins on land owned by an East Devon holiday business.

Twistgates Farm, at Upottery near Honiton, already offers self-catering cottages but submitted plans for the wooden cabins to broaden its offer.

Planning officers had recommended the scheme be refused, but because it was supported by the local councillor, the application had to be decided by East Devon District Council’s planning committee.

Officers felt the limited economic benefit the three cabins would bring didn’t outweigh the harm caused by the “unsustainable location”, which would need to be accessed by private transport. They said development at that location could impact the “character of the site and impact on the tranquillity of the area”, albeit some measures could have mitigated this.

But Cllr Colin Brown (Conservative, Dunkeswell and Otterhead) said he supported the plans from the “well-established and respected holiday business”.

“I support the expansion of the site, as it is close to the main A30 and the village of Upottery with the Sidmouth Arms also close by,” he said.

He added that the same policies officers were using to recommend refusal were the same used to support a similar application two years ago.

“It was approximately the same distance from a main road and also located down a long, narrow lane just like Twistgates,” he said.

“Both sites are in the Blackdown Hills AONB, now known as National Landscape, and in this case, our landscape officer raised no specific objections to the landscape impact.

“If officers can give delegated planning permission for a start-up business – as per the previous case – then we should support an established tourism business that will boost the economy of East Devon.”

His fellow ward member, Cllr Yehudi Levine (Liberal Democrat) had been “lukewarm” on the application, initially concerned the site would be overdeveloped, but then suggesting he could support the application if it aligned with the conditions stated by the Blackdown Hills planning officer.

Cllr Peter Faithfull (Independent, Ottery St Mary) noted that several nearby tourism-related businesses were in even more isolated locations that Twistgates.

“So I’m not sure that that reason by itself is a reason to refuse a tourism business,” he said.

“I’d be in support of this application because of the other businesses around it.”

He did not think the three huts would have a significant impact on the availability of water in the area, something raised by an objector.

Officer Wendy Ormsby said that some of the accommodation Cllr Faithfull was referring to could be through Airbnb, and therefore be using parts of existing properties rather than effectively creating a new campsite beyond the existing business.

“If we take the view that if something is not that visible and therefore it doesn’t really matter, then you’d effectively be in a position where any field that is not particularly visible could be developed as a caravan park or a lodge park, so we do have to be careful,” she said.

She added that for such a site to be developed, there had to be “explicit support” from the council’s overarching development plan, “but there isn’t, hence the officer recommendation for refusal”.

However, most councillors felt the proposal could be considered sustainable, given that it was possible to walk or cycle to nearby Upottery and catch buses, countering a key reason officers had recommended it be rejected.

Six councillors voted to approve the plan, with five members abstaining.