Drury farm shop owner wins planning appeal for stables
A stable block and horse training area in Drury that was refused retrospective planning permission by Flintshire County Council has been saved on appeal.
Lester Thompson, who owns Drury Farm Shop, applied for permission to normalise equestrian facilities he had built at the farm off Drury New Road.
He constructed two stable blocks for 10 horses and a permeable sand manège – an area for training horses that reduces the risk of injury.
When he submitted his application to Flintshire Council’s planning department earlier this year planning officers recommended approval. While the land is classed as green wedge in Flintshire’s Local Development Plan, leisure developments for which a countryside location is essential – such as equestrianism – are allowed.
However Flintshire Council’s planning committee rejected officers’ advice and turned down the proposal.
Mr Thompson decided to appeal and took his case to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW).
Giving evidence to PEDW’s planning inspectors, Flintshire County Council argued that the facility was inappropriate for the open countryside.
“The proposal is located outside of the well-defined settlement boundary which clearly demarcates this land as being open countryside,” it said. “Whilst the proposed use is considered to be a use commonly found in open countryside locations such as this the council previously considered that given the scale and nature of what is proposed, it would represent inappropriate development into open countryside.
“Whilst the designs of the buildings themselves, as agricultural buildings, may be considered to be appropriate in isolation it is the overall scale of development and the layout of the development on the site which contributes cumulatively to the impact of the proposal on the character and openness of the locality.”
There were no objections from nearby neighbours or key stakeholders.
Alyn and Deeside MP Sir Mark Tami even wrote to inspectors in support of the plans.
“While the development is in a green wedge area, overall I feel that the development is justified in terms of rural enterprise reasons,” he said in a letter.
“The service it offers is in keeping with the rural community and none of the neighbours or stakeholders have raised any objections.
“I would be grateful if you would please consider using any flexibility or discretion that is available to you in determining this appeal.”
After hearing evidence from all parties and conducting a site visit, inspectors overturned the planning committee’s decision, approving the application subject to conditions.
Mr Thompson must detail to Flintshire County Council in writing plans to improve the access lane and loading area connected to the stables, plans to improve biodiversity around the developed area and he must submit a waste disposal plan.
“The scale and nature of the equestrian use is not significant,” said the inspector in summing up his decision. “Since the horses are kept
on the land, the need for shelter is reasonable.
“The open-ended storage building is used to store hay and is not a large building. The storing of hay and feed is essential for the sport of horse riding, as is a manège for exercise, training and recreation pursuits.
“The scale of the stable and storage buildings is proportionate to the number of horses and corresponding equine activity undertaken at this location. The essential nature of the buildings for this outdoor recreational activity is therefore justified.”
By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter
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