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An amusement park boss is facing legal action for digging up ground near a children’s hospice after being told he could not.

Henry Danter, the owner of Barry Island Pleasure Park in the Vale of Glamorgan, wants to turn land near Ty Hafan Children’s Hospice in nearby Sully into a holiday park.

He was served an enforcement notice by Vale of Glamorgan Council in January, ordering him to stop excavation works on his land off Hayes Road, near the hospice.

Mr Danter - whose proposals have met concern from families who use Ty Hafan - said said the work on the site was only intended to improve its appearance and that he believed he was working within the boundaries of what he is permitted to do.

Lis Burnett, leader of the council, said its planning team had visited the site and spoken to Mr Danter "several times" to explain what was permitted.

There is opposition to Mr Danter's holiday park plans near Ty Hafan, and a protest petition has received more than 15,000 signatures.

"Despite this, there have been repeated examples of unauthorised work being carried out," said Ms Burnett.

"The only conclusion we can draw is that he has a flagrant disregard for his obligations as a landowner and for the impact these works have on the surrounding area.

"This site is particularly sensitive due to it being so close to the Ty Hafan children’s hospice.

"We believe legal action is now the only way to bring all work at the site to a stop.

"We will prosecute the landowner to the full extent of our powers."

No planning application has been made for a holiday park on the land – only one for fencing, which was approved, and applications for storage containers and caravan storage, which were both withdrawn.

Mr Danter said: "We are trying to tidy the site up. We think we are acting within the permitted grant which we got to do it.

"We believe that we are only just taking the scrubland off it to see what land we have got.

"To me, they are making a mountain out of a molehill."