Agenda item
- Meeting of Planning Committee, Monday, 20th May, 2019 1.00 pm (Item 9.)
- View the declarations of interest for item 9.
- View the background to item 9.
Outline application for the erection of a rural enterprise dwelling
LOCAL MEMBER:
Councillor Peter Garlick
Link
to relevant background documents
Minutes:
Application No. C19/0169/19/AM - Gypsy Wood, Bontnewydd, Caernarfon
Outline
application for the erection of a rural enterprise dwelling
Attention was drawn to
the late observations form that had been received
(a)
The Planning Manager elaborated on the background of the
application, and noted that it had been submitted to
the Planning Committee at the request of the Local Member. It was explained
that the decision had been deferred at the Planning Committee on 29.04.2019 in
order to assess the content of the late letter received from the landowner's
solicitor. The letter noted that the landowners would be transferring the business to the
applicants and selling the section of land where it was intended to build the
house that was the subject of the application, to the applicants.
It was reported that the
application site was located approximately 250m away from the development
boundary of the village of Bontnewydd, and in terms
of the Local Development Plan, it was located in open countryside. As a result of the
need to maintain and protect the countryside, special justification was needed
to approve the construction of new houses in the countryside. It was noted that
Policy PS17 of the Local Development Plan stated that only housing developments
that complied with Planning Policy Wales and Technical Advice Note (TAN) 6:
Planning for Sustainable Rural Communities, would be approved in open
countryside.
Attention was drawn to paragraph 4.3.1 of TAN6 which
noted that one of the few circumstances in which new isolated residential
development in the open countryside may be justified was when accommodation was
required to enable rural enterprise workers to live at, or close to, their
place of work. It was
further explained that this essential need for accommodation would
depend on the needs of
the rural enterprise concerned and not on the personal preference or
circumstances of the applicant.
It was noted, should the situation with the land ownership and
the business change officially in the future, then it would be required to
re-assess the proposal in its entirety against the relevant sections of TAN
6. It was reported that it was premature
and inappropriate to assess the situation in the future
as there was no certainty that this would happen. Should the ownership circumstances officially
change in future, it would be required for the applicants to provide the
appropriate information to reassess the application in its entirety.
Attention was drawn to paragraph 4.11 of TAN 6 which
noted that evidence must be provided that there are no other dwelling(s) or
buildings that could be modified to satisfy the need. If dwelling(s) already
exist on the enterprise, there would be a need to demonstrate why these cannot be used to satisfy the needs of the enterprise for
residential workers, and the reason that labour or residential arrangements
cannot be reorganised in order to ensure that the existing accommodation meets
the needs of the enterprise without the need for another dwelling.
It
was considered that this proposal of erecting a rural enterprise dwelling in
the context of the business on the site was contrary to the requirements of
policies PCYFF 1 and PS17 of the LDP as well as paragraphs 4.2.36 - 37 of
Planning Policy Wales, section 4.3.1 of TAN 6:
Planning for Sustainable Rural Communities and section 2.13 of the
Practical Guidance for TAN 6.
The Senior
Solicitor expressed that the land had been transferred to the applicant, not
the business, and with weekly modifications being received,
it was difficult to assess the situation.
It was suggested that the best solution would
be to submit the application from scratch when the entire business had been
transferred to the applicant.
(c) It was highlighted that the Local Member was
very supportive of a favourable outcome following the
latest information that had been received.
(ch) It was proposed and seconded to refuse the application.
(d)
During the ensuing discussion, the following main
observations were noted by members:
·
That
the recommendation to refuse was in line with the relevant policies
·
That
approving the application would create a dangerous precedent
·
The
need was not proven
In response to a question regarding proposing a different recommendation if
the business had been transferred in full, the Planning Manager noted that
tests would need to be completed and further evidence gathered.
(dd) RESOLVED to refuse the application on the following grounds
·
The site is located in open countryside from a
planning policy perspective, and the planning statement and rural enterprise
dwelling evaluation confirms that individuals who own 50% of the rural
enterprise business, own the land where the business is located and live in a
property already located on the site. Therefore, the Local Planning Authority is of the opinion that any
functional need that exists with the business on the site is already met and
that erecting an additional dwelling on this site would therefore be contrary
to the requirements of policies PCYFF 1 and PS17 of the LDP, as well as
paragraphs 4.2.36 - 37 of Planning Policy Wales, section 4.3.1 of TAN 6: Planning for Sustainable Rural Communities
and section 2.13 of the Practical Guidance for TAN 6.
·
The current proposed access for use to serve the
proposal in question is sub-standard with regard to visibility towards the
direction of Bontnewydd. To this end, the proposal is
contrary to the requirments of policy TRA 4 of the
Gwynedd and Môn Unitary Development Plan 2017 with regard to ensuring road
safety.
Supporting documents: