CAMPAIGNERS have submitted a legal challenge against proposals to transform an Anglesey nature reserve into a £100million holiday village.

Cumbria-based Land & Lakes received planning permission to build 500 chalets at Penrhos Coastal Park, Holyhead in 2016.

But Isle of Anglesey County Council has now been sent a solicitor’s letter arguing that such permission is now invalid, as outline planning permission should have been acted upon by August 22, 2022.

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'I'll tie myself to a tree': saving an ancient forest from becoming a holiday park

The site has been an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) since 1967, and its 27-acre woodland is home to rare red squirrels.

Parts of the site are believed to date back to the early 1700s, and it is full of rare species of flora, fauna and wildlife.

As well as red squirrels, there are badgers, bats, foxes and insects who have made the forest their home.

Holyhead residents launched an appeal to raise £20,000 to hire solicitors for the Save Penrhos Coastal Park (SPCP) campaign.

Its donations total, set up on the JustGiving website, currently stands at £17,463.

Land & Lakes submitted three additional planning applications last week, which the council’s planning committee was due to examine today (February 1).

This has now been postponed until March in light of the receipt of the solicitor’s letter.

A council spokesperson said: "Following receipt of legal correspondence regarding the Land and Lakes planning applications (on January 30), we have decided to recommend that these applications are deferred to the next Planning and Orders Committee meeting in March.

“This will provide us with sufficient time to consider the contents of this letter and to respond accordingly."