CK Planning has once again been successful in obtaining planning permission for clients who had battled for some time with the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park to obtain planning permission. Andrew and Marlis Malien, who operate Pen Pant Farm just outside Solva, proposed to convert what was an existing, former farm workers cottage on their farm back into a dwelling for their daughter to live in to enable her to take over their farming operation. Andrew and Marlis have owned and operated Pen Pant for 42 years, however they are both beyond retirement age and they want to bring their daughter, Erika, in to take over the running of their long-standing, successful business. The Welsh Assembly Government support succession farming and this was an ideal scenario where the continuity of this family business could be ensured. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority failed to accept this point, taking the rather ‘blinkered’ view that the farm did not meet new planning policy and was not financially viable. Fortunately Planning Inspector A.D. Poulter disagreed with this point, accepting that the farm is financially sustainable. National Park officers even suggested that Erika could live up to 30km away and manage the farm with the help of CCTV camera’s!! So impractical was this suggestion that Dorian Williams of the National Farmers Union appeared at the Hearing to support Andrew and Marlis. Andrew and Marlis say that they cannot thank Chris Kimpton of CK Planning enough for his expert advice and the thoroughly professional way in which he handled this matter on their...
Read MorePembrokeshire Coast National Park Planning Policy Alert
Site accessibility is now being used by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park planning officers as a reason to refuse new development and outbuilding conversions. Policy 7 of the Local Development Plan (LDP) contains qualifying criteria which refers to ‘accessibility to the Centres identified in the hierarchy’. This requirement has been interpreted as a site having to be within 1km of a named Centre identified in the LDP, or the site being more than 1km away from a centre but within 1km of a bus service (however, this is where more qualifying criteria come in!) or the site is within 1km of a bus route with 5 or more return journeys a day. However, if a site is within 1km of a bus route with less than 5 return journeys a day it is deemed appropriate for holiday letting or, incredibly, affordable housing. Further ‘concessions’ are made for affordable housing if an application involves a building of architectural or historic interest or is simply for affordable housing, in which case the site does not have to be accessible. What we are therefore now seeing is a policy presumption being pursued by planning officers against much needed open market housing in the Pembrokeshire National Park, in favour of holiday homes and, more amazingly, affordable homes in isolated locations. Surely the whole idea of affordable home provision is to build close to shops, services, schools, bus routes, doctors etc so that the occupants are not further disadvantaged by finding themselves in a totally isolated rural location. Yet another example of the way planners in Pembrokeshire are working against the economic and social well-being of the areas...
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