Contentious plans to serve alcohol at a luxury caravan site have been approved by Bradford Council.

The application for an alcohol licence at Hamiltons, a new restaurant and cafe at Olicana Park in Addingham, had divided the village.

Residents both opposing and supporting the plans descended on City Hall yesterday for a meeting of the Council’s Bradford District Licensing Panel.

The application, to serve alcohol to be consumed on and off site, had been submitted by Listers Leisure Limited, the owners of the Hill Mill Lane holiday park. They had said the business, based in a cabin near the River Wharfe, would serve on-site customers and people walking the Yorkshire Dales.

But some residents had raised concerns that serving alcohol could lead to a rise in traffic, noise and anti-social behaviour in a picturesque area of the district.

Yesterday’s meeting had to be moved to a larger room due to the amount of people attending. Eighteen people had written to the council objecting to the licence, and another 16 wrote supporting the plans.

John Coen, representing the applicants, said there had been no objections to the plans from police, environmental health or the Council’s highways department.

Nick Harding, an Addingham resident speaking against the application, said: “Contrary to what you might think, we don’t think of ourselves as NIMBYs, we are just trying to look after the environment for future generations. The place will be changed forever.”

They said when a planning application to turn a log cabin into a cafe was approved in 2016, they were told it would only be a small scale cafe.

He said the business would need to attract outside visitors to stay profitable, and this would lead to traffic concerns, and could cause drink driving.

Objectors also raised fears that those buying drinks at the site would lead to anti-social behaviour, vandalism and a rise in crime in the area.

Terry Wornsop, one of the caravan park residents, spoke in favour of the plans, saying: “It is very rare these days to go out for a meal and not have a drink. Everywhere else in the village you can have a drink with your meal.

“People who are objecting are in their own little world, and are objecting because that world is being adjusted slightly. They are picking at little things and I don’t understand the reason. They are trying to stop this business from providing a nice way of life and having some nice food and a drink.”

Mr Coen told the panel: “If police felt there could be a spike in crime because of this proposal do you not think they would have made a representation to this committee?

“This will not be a ‘stack em high sell em cheap’ pub. The people who go there won’t be falling down drunk or drink driving.”

The panel voted to approve the application.