Agenda item

Application NO 180091 - Hambridge Farm, Easthampstead Road, Wokingham

Recommendation: Conditional Approval subject to legal agreement.

Minutes:

Proposal: Full planning application for the siting of temporary rural worker's dwelling.

 

Applicant: Mr M Phillips.

 

The Committee received and reviewed a report on this application, set out in Agenda pages 105 to 136.

 

The Committee were advised that the Members’ Update included:

 

·           A correction to condition 3 to not include the planting of yew trees;

·           A correction to paragraph 32 to indicate that the application was not CIL liable and that Informative 5 be deleted.

 

Luke O’Brien, Resident, spoke in objection to the application. He stated that the original barn on the site was built illegally, with a planning application submitted after construction had been completed. He added that since then the site had grown and been developed further. Luke was of the opinion that there were lots of farms in Wokingham Without with temporary dwellings for workers, which had sought to become permanent dwelling after three years via a planning application. He added that after permanent planning permission had been granted, the tendency was for the farming operations to close down and the occupants use the land solely as residential dwellings. Luke queried that a requirement of this planning application was that the applicant lived in Hurst and there was therefore a need for accommodation on the farm, but the applicant’s son and his wife and dependant would be the main occupiers of the dwelling and it was not stated where they lived.  

 

Emily Temple, on behalf of the Agent, spoke in favour of the application. Emily stated that there was an existing agricultural business on the site and that the enterprise had been successful to date. She added that the NPPF supported workers dwellings for rural workers where there was a need for accommodation. Emily stated that the applicant intended to increase the pigs on the farm to 50 or more, and to increase the calves on the farm to 100, which would be achieved by having the extra workers housed on site. Emily stated that having temporary accommodation on farm sites such as this was best practice, and that the structure in the application adhered to the legal definition of a caravan. Emily added that visual mitigation of the site and drainage facilities would be fulfilled as part of the application.

 

Tim Holton read out a written statement from the local ward Member Angus Ross, who was in objection to the application. He stated that access from the site had limited sight lines and was obscured in several areas. He added that the character of the proposed development was excessive when compared to the character and appearance of the surrounding areas. He urged Members to listen to the concerns of local residents who also had concerns regarding the proposed application and its impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area.  

 

In response to Tim Holton’s question regarding the viability report, Simon Taylor, Case Officer, stated that future projections supported the suggestion that that the business would be profitable in the future.

 

Members queried the need for accommodation for the applicant’s dependant. Simon Taylor stated the application was reviewed based on appropriate accommodation within 1 mile of the site and also based on the purchase and rental prices in the area. It was confirmed that the applicant’s dependant lived with the applicant and would be working on the farm.

 

Members discussed their concerns regarding the landscaping of the site. Wayne Smith proposed an amendment to condition 3, whereby the landscaping plan be approved in conjunction with the Chair and the local ward Member. This was seconded by Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey.

 

Upon being put to the vote it was:

 

RESOLVED: That application 180091 be approved subject to the conditions set out in Agenda pages 106 to 109, amendments as set out in the Members’ Update, and the amended condition 3 as set out above.

Supporting documents: