Rutland | Erection of 4 No. residential two-storey dwellings (2020/0706/FUL)
The site is located in the charming village of Great Casterton on the eastern edge of Rutland, behind a former public house now used as an Osteopathic Clinic. The land previously formed part of the pub garden and a former bowls club. The latter has been closed for several years and is overgrown whilst the pub garden is not used by the Clinic.
The proposal was to erect 4 dwellings with a new access alongside the former pub car park. The proposal included a play area following discussion with the Parish Council who have supported the scheme from the outset.
The review of important open spaces for the Rutland Local Plan review in 2017 retained the site as Important Open Space and stated
‘Bowls Club and beer garden to The Plough Inn. Provides green space for village and sets openness to village. Can be viewed from Old Great North Road and Pickworth Road. As planting between bowls club and beer garden. Important to character of the village.’
A closer examination of the site showed that it is barely visible along Pickworth Road due to the high hedge. The character of the site when used as a pub garden and Bowling Green has disappeared and the site contributes little to the public realm as there is no longer public access or significant views in or out of the site.
The dwellings would be at a lower level than Pickworth Road so would not be prominent; they would also be set well back from the Old Great North Road.
Upon reviewing our planning arguments, it was considered by officers that the Important Open Space designation could no longer be defended, and the application was recommended for approval. Due to its conflict with the development plan, the application was heard by the Planning Committee who unanimously resolved to grant planning permission.
The site is now being marketed on behalf of the client. Full details available here.
Greater Cambridge | Erection of an agricultural storage building (21/03964/FUL)
This full planning application included the provision of a new agricultural building for grain and machinery storage on a large arable agricultural holding. The holding extends to approximately 850 acres in total of which circa 220 are occupied by a solar photovoltaic farm. The application site is located to the south of the hamlet of Wendy in the civil parish of Shingay cum Wendy.
The application was previously withdrawn due to a conflict between the siting of the grain store and landscaping measures implemented during decvelopment of to the neighbouring solar farm. These concerns were consequently addressed through a landscape appraisal and plan. The repositioning of one of the hedges and additional new planting proposed in the revised plans were considered to be acceptable so as to mitigate any landscape impact and the application was subsequently approved.
South Holland | Change of use of short-term bed and breakfast accommodation to one residential dwelling (H13-1072-21)
This full planning application for the change of use of a building used for bed and breakfast accommodation to a single dwelling was approved by South Holland.
The applicant’s family were, until recently, operators of The Beeches Bed & Breakfast. That enterprise commenced operation in the summer of 2005, however, ceased in March 2020 following the COVID outbreak and the lockdown imposed by the UK government. The application building was converted from an agricultural building to six units of short-term bed and breakfast accommodation following an application in 2004. The approval was subject to the following condition:
The development hereby approved shall be used only as short-term bed and breakfast tourist accommodation in association with The Beeches and shall not be used as longer-term units of living accommodation.
The former operators currently reside in the neighbouring host dwelling, are of retirement age, and have no intention of resuming trading as a bed & breakfast. Given that the condition imposed on the application building restricted its use for any purpose other than in conjunction with The Beeches B&B and, coupled with fact that The Beeches B&B was no longer operational, the building could not be lawfully used and was ultimately redundant.
In the Planning Officer’s opinion, ‘the retention and occupation of the building in its current form to use as a residential dwelling would bring an otherwise unoccupied building into use and ensure its upkeep’.
East Suffolk | Variation of approved Class Q permission (DC/21/4328/VOC)
This application sought to vary of a condition of a previous Class Q approval for the conversion of an agricultural building to a dwelling.
The proposal involved amendments to the elevations, floor plans and the inclusion of a mezzanine floor. The Planning Practice Guidance states that:
"Internal works are not generally development. For the building to function as a dwelling it may be appropriate to undertake internal structural works, including to allow for a floor, the insertion of a mezzanine or upper floors within the overall residential floor space permitted, or internal walls, which are not prohibited by Class Q."