Agenda item

Recommended for Approval.

The Director of Neighbourhood Services recommended that, in respect of application 3/14/0596/FP, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report now submitted.

Councillor M Newman stated that this application, for the proposed replacement of an existing mobile home with a permanent two storey farm manager’s house, constituted a huge step up in terms of the scale of development on this site and this caused him a degree of unease as to how long the proposed development would remain a farmhouse.

The Director advised that there were no guidelines surrounding the size of an agricultural worker’s dwelling and such a dwelling had to provide for the agricultural worker and family in a variety of situations.  Officers had recommended that, should this application be approved, ‘permitted development’ rights would be removed regarding further extensions in what was a Green Belt location.

Councillor N Symonds reiterated that there must be very special circumstances for development in the Green Belt.  She agreed with the points made by Councillor M Newman regarding the increase in the size of the property that was the subject of this application.

In response to a query from Councillor M Alexander, the Director advised that the agricultural tie linking the occupant to Clements Farm was such that any application to remove this connection would have to be backed up by evidence that there was no need for an agricultural worker on Clements Farm or in the locality.

Councillor G Jones proposed and Councillor M Alexander seconded, a motion that application 3/14/0596/FP be refused on the grounds that, due to the size and scale of the proposed dwelling, the inappropriate nature of the proposed development in the Metropolitan Green Belt was not clearly outweighed by any agricultural justification for a farm manager at the site.  The proposal would therefore be contrary to policy GBC1 of the East Herts Local Plan Second Review April 2007 and section 9 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.  The Committee rejected the recommendation of the Director of Neighbourhood Services as now submitted.

RESOLVED – that, in respect of application 3/14/0596/FP, planning permission be refused for the following reasons:

1.    The application site lies within the Metropolitan Green Belt as defined in the East Hertfordshire Local Plan wherein permission will not be given except in very special circumstances for development for purposes other than those required for mineral extraction, agriculture, small scale facilities for participatory sport and recreation or other uses appropriate to a rural area. The proposed development constitutes inappropriate development, is harmful by definition and should not be approved except in very special circumstances. The harm by inappropriateness , the additional harm by the loss of openness and the adverse impacts on the rural character of the Metropolitan Green Belt due to the size and scale of the proposed dwelliing are not clearly outweighed by any agricultural justification for a farm manager at the site . The proposal would therefore be contrary to policy GBC1 of the East Herts Local Plan Second Review April 2007 and section 9 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Summary of Reasons for Decision

In accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2012 (as amended).  East Herts Council has considered, in a positive and proactive manner, whether the planning objections to this proposal could be satisfactorily resolved within the statutory period for determining the application. However, for the reasons set out in this decision notice, the proposal is not considered to achieve an acceptable and sustainable development in accordance with the Development Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework. The Council would like to draw the applicant’s attention to the pre-application advice given in the officer’s letters under ref. M/13/0150/01 dated 19^th December 2013 and ref. M/13//0150/02 dated 4^th March 2014.