Decision details

Members had visited the site on the previous day

The following spoke under the Authority’s Public Participation Scheme:

·        Ms Sheena Ashbrook, Applicant

Following discussion the Officer recommendation was amended to add the words “the building is suitable for livestock accommodation or” to the reason for refusal 3.

The amended Officer recommendation was moved, seconded put to the vote and carried.

RESOLVED:

To REFUSE the application for the following reasons:

1.         By virtue of the siting and design of the building, granting retrospective planning permission for this application would be contrary to saved Local Plan Policy LC13, because the building does not relate well to the existing buildings at Mixon Mines and it is not sited in the least obtrusive location on land in the applicant’s control.

2.         By virtue of the siting and design of the building and its landscaping, including recent engineering works and planting of species not in keeping with the character of the local area, the retention of the building would have an unduly harmful visual impact on the character of the surrounding landscape and would detract from the remaining significance of the former mine workings on the site. Therefore, retention of the building would be contrary to policies saved Local Plan policy LC4, contrary to policies GSP1, GSP2, GSP3, L1 and L3 of the Core Strategy, and contrary to national planning policies in the Framework.

3.         In the absence of an agricultural appraisal to support this application, and in the absence of a business plan that demonstrates the building is suitable for livestock accommodation or that the applicant’s stated intentions of keeping a beef herd on the land are reasonably likely to happen, it cannot be demonstrated that the benefits of approving this application would outweigh or offset the identified and demonstrable harm to the valued characteristics of the National Park that would result from the retention of the building. Therefore, retention of the building would be contrary to the principles of sustainable development set out in national planning policies in the Framework and policy GSP1 of the Authority’s Core Strategy.