Town and Country Planning Act 1990

 

 

REFUSAL OF PLANNING PERMISSION

Name and address of applicant:

 

Mr T Wrench

Brithdir Mawr

Newport

Pembs

Name and address of Agent (if any)

Part I - Particulars of application:

Date of application:                                14~~ March, 2002                                Application number: NPIO2/133

Particulars and location of development:                                Roundhouse (Renewal of consent)

                                Roundhouse, Brithdir Mawr, Newport, Pembs

 

Part II - Particulars of decision:

 

The PEMBROKESHIRE COAST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY hereby give notice in pursuance of the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that PERMISSION HAS BEEN REFUSED for the carrying out of the development referred to in Part I hereof for the following reasons:

 

1.   The proposed is contrary to the following policy of the Dyfed Structure Plan:

 

Policy H8 - It is the policy of the County Council that there will be a presumption against new residential development, including individual dwellings, in the open countryside except where it is clearly needed to house a worker in agriculture, forestry or other appropriate employment who must live on the spot rather than in a nearby settlement.

 

2.   The proposal is contrary to advice contained in PPGW in particular the provisions of paras. 51.1.

 

new building in the open countryside away from existing settlements or areas allocated for development in development plans should be strictly controlled".

 

and paras. 10.6.1-10.6.4

 

10.6.1:-New house building and other new development in the open countryside, away from established seillements, should be strictly controlled. Isolated new houses in the open countryside require special justification, for example, where they are essential to enable farm or forestry workers to live at or close to their place of work. Agricultural needs cannot justify the provision of new dwellings as retirement homes for farmers.

 

10.6.2: The following, in particular, should be considered when determining planning applications for agricultural and forestry dwellings:-

 

a functional test to establish whether, for the proper functioning of the enterprise, one or more workers need to

be readily available at most times, in terms of both its current and likely future requirements; new permanent

accommodation cannot be justified on agricultural grounds unless the farming enterprise is economically viable.

A financial test is necessary for this purpose, and to provide evidence of the size of the dwelling which the unit

can sustain.

 

 

 

For the National Park Authority

 

APR 2~O2

 

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority

W~nch Lane Haverfordwest Pembrokeshire SA6I IPY

Tel:       01437 - 764636 Fax: 01437 - 769045

 

 

Contid.

Page 2

10.6.3: It is important to establish that stated intentions to engage in agriculture or forestry are genuine, are reasonably likely to materialise and are capable of being sustained for a reasonable period. If it is considered that a new dwelling will be essential to support a new farming activity, whether on a newly-created agricultural unit or an established one but the case is not completely proven, it should normally for the first three years be provided by a caravan, or a wooden structure which can be easily dismantled, or other temporary accommodation. Temporary agricultural dwellings should satisfy normal planning requirements, for example on siting and access, and will have to be removed at the end of the period for which the permission was granted. Local planning authorities should not grant temporary planning permissions in locations where they would not permit a permanent dwelling.

 

 

10.6.4. Where the need to provide accommodation to enable farm or forestry workers to live at or near their place of work has been accepted as justifying isolated residential development in the open countryside, it will be necessary to ensure that the dwellings are kept available for this need. For this reason planning permissions should be granted subject to an occupancy condition.

 

3.   The proposal is contrary to the following policies of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Local Plan:-

 

Policy GEl- Development in the National Park will be permitted insofar as it is compatible with the statutory purposes of designation and with its natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage. Development must be appropriate in terms of:-

 

1)     character

2) scale/bulk

3) siting

4)     overall design, detailing and materials

5)     layout and landscaping

6)     visual impact

 

Development which would create any significant environmental, amenity, transport or public services objections and/or would fail to satisfy all the above criteria will not be permitted.

 

It is not considered that this proposal meets these criteria

 

 

Appeals to the Secretary of State:

 

·    If you are aggrieved by the decision of your local planning authority to refuse permission for the proposed development or to grant it subject to conditions, then you can appeal to the Secretary of State for Wales under Section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

·    If you want to appeal, then you must do so within six months of the date of this notice, using a form which you can get from The Planning Inspectorate, Welsh Office, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF1 3NQ.

·    The Secretary of State can allow a longer period for giving notice of an appeal, but he will not normally be prepared to use this power unless there are special circumstances which excuse the delay in giving notice of appeal.

·    The Secretary of State need not consider an appeal if it seems to him that the local planning authority could not have granted permission for the proposed development or could not have granted it without the conditions it imposed, having regard to the statutory requirements, to the provisions of the development order and to any directions giving under that order.

·    In practice, the Secretary of State does not refuse to consider appeals solely because the local planning authority based its decision on a direction given by him.

 

Purchase Notes

 

·    If either the local planning authority or the Secretary of State for Wales refuses permission to develop land or grants it subject to conditions, the owner may claim that he can neither put the land to a reasonably beneficial use in its existing state nor can he render the land capable of a reasonably beneficial use by the carrying out of any development which has been or would be permitted.

·    In these circumstances, the owner may serve a purchase notice on the Council in whose area the land is situated. This notice will require the Council to purchase his interest in the land in accordance with the provisions of Part VI of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Contid~.

Page 3

 

 

Policy GE2- Development limits are defined for the main settlements within the National Park in Part 2 of the Plan. Development proposals outside the limits so defined (or beyond the development area of settlements not having a development limit defined in the Plan) will be regarded as being in the countryside and will not be permitted, except as provided for by the following:-

 

1.     the development of community facilities appropriately located to serve the needs of the community as set out in Policy CNP1;

2.     'infilling' dwellings specified in Policy HNP3;

3.     housing in connection with employment in agriculture or forestry as set out in Policy HNP6;

4.     the development of affordable housing for local needs as set out in Policy HNP8;

5.                conversion or change of use of buildings for business, residential or tourist accommodation or recreational activities as set out in chapters 1,3 A,6,7,12, 13 and 14;

6.                development in connection with agriculture as set out in chapter 6;

7.     the provision of infrastructure and coastal defences as set out in chapters 8 and 9;

8.     energy generation as set out in chapter 8;

9.                recreational development as set out in chapter 13;

10.                development in connection with caravan sites as set out in Chapter 14.

 

Policy H04- Planning consents will only be given for new dwellings in the countryside if there is a strong agricultural or forestry justification. New dwellings for workers employed in agriculture or forestry will be acceptable where the development is essential for the effective operation of the industry and where:-

 

1.     A proven need would be met;

2.     the worker must live on the spot rather than in a nearby settlement~

 

It is not considered that this proposal meets the requirements of this policy.

 

4.   The proposal is contrary to advice contained in TAN 6 particularly paras. 41-46.

 

41.   new permanent dwellings should only be allowed to support existing agricultural activities on well­established agricultural units, providing:

 

a)                there is clearly established existing functional need;

 

b)                the need relates to a full-time worker, or one who is primarily employed in agriculture, and does not relate to a part-time requirement;

 

c)                the unit and the agricultural activity concerned have been established for at least three years, have been profitable for at least one of them, are currently financially sound, and have a clear prospect of remaining so;

 

d)                the functional need could not be fulfilled by another dwelling already on the unit, or any other existing accommodation in the area which is suitable and available for occupation by the workers concerned; and

 

e)                other normal planning requirements, for example, on siting and access, are satisfied.

 

42.   A functional test is necessary to establish whether it is essential for the proper functioning of the enterprise for one or more workers to be readily a'~aiIable at most times. Such a requirement might arise, for example, if workers are needed to be on hand day and night:

 

in case animals or agricultural processes require essential care at short notice; to deal quickly with emergencies that could otherwise cause serious loss of crops or products, for example, by frost damage or the failure of automatic systems.

 

43.   In cases where the local planning authority is particularly concerned about possible abuse, it may be helpful to investigate the history of the holding to establish the recent pattern of use of land and buildings whether, for example, any dwellings or buildings suitable for conversion to dwellings have recently been sold separately from the farm land concerned. Such a sale could constitute evidence of lack of agricultural need.

Page 4

 

 

44~  The protection of livestock from theft or injury by intruders may contribute on animal welfare grounds to the need for an agricultural dwelling, although it will not by itself be sufficient to justify one. Requirements arising from food processing, as opposed to agriculture, cannot be used to justify an agricultural dwelling.

 

45.   If a functional requirement is established, it will then be necessary to consider the number of workers needed to meet it, for which the scale and nature of the enterprise is relevant.

 

46.   New permanent accommodation cannot justified on agricultural grounds unless the farming enterprise is economically viable. A financial test is necessary for this purpose, and to provide evidence of the size of the dwelling which the unit can sustain.

 

5.   Further it is considered that there is adequate residential accommodation available elsewhere on the holding for essential on-site workers.