planning difficulties

[weas]

i wish to convert an old milking parlour for bed and breakfast it has been refused by a very difficult planning officer who said because it is not a suitalbe rural builing help what is highways have no problems likewise the parish council gave full support help me !!
thanks

[Jugglering]

Maybe the planning department thought it was an *inappropriate development in a rural area* ? Did your plans (layouts, sections and elevations etc) show it to look like a modern *urban* development which might stick out like a sore thumb in the countryside ? Wait for the detailed response, as Zac says, and then let us know what they say.

[weas]

my home is cotswold stone and likewise is the parlour,
we do live in AONB

[buildersmate]

I could go on til the cows come home about this (no pun intended).
You are clearly in a sensitive area from a planning point of view.
What is the building used for presently?
Do you know what the local planning policy says about use of redundancy agricultural buildings?
Is it attached to your dwelling, if not how far away is it from the dwelling.
What changes would you have to make to the external appearance of the parlour.
Which District Council are you? (then I will look at their specific policies for you).

[monkeyeyes]

I've been trying to find out which Local Authority is dealing with this matter for hours............:o(

[weas]

buildersmate thank you
the milking parlour is now disused as only beef cattle graze here it has been empty for about 8 years .
the parlour is behind my house about 30 foot away it only overlooks my land no near neighbour. we hope to maintain cotswold stone in appearance the only thing is that the roof is metal
and i live in north wiltshire thanks so much ,i am having a bad day!!
monkey eyes that s north wiltshire thanks

[buildersmate]

I am genuinely surprised you are having so much trouble with this. N Wilts planning policies that would appear to provide you the best opportunity are TM1 - General Policy for Tourism, BD6 - Reuse of Rural Buildings and BD7 - Farm Diversification. See the link at the end.

TM1 says "Proposals for new tourist accommodation will be expected to be located in, or adjacent to, existing towns and villages. Proposals for tourist development within the countryside that improves or extends the range of tourist facilities, including tourist accommodation will be permitted, provided that:
i) It would result in the conversion of a suitable rural building; or
ii) Forms part of a farm diversification scheme; or
iii) Is an extension to existing facilities, of a scale appropriate to its location.

Part of BD7 says
10.17 (Farm) diversification can include a wide range of enterprises of an appropriate scale, including non-food crops, woodland planting, recreation and leisure uses, the management of land to provide environmental benefits, farm shops, craft workshops and small-scale tourist attractions, contracting, equestrian businesses, woodland management, �pick your own�, nature trails, holiday accommodation and light industrial use. Such activities often help to sustain agricultural, forestry or horticultural holdings as viable units, and hence they can reduce the likelihood of farm fragmentation. However, PPS7 demonstrates that the appeal of the countryside is central to its economic prosperity and that development should therefore be of an appropriate scale and nature, so that they do not have an adverse impact upon the character, appearance or quality of the surrounding countryside. They should also be capable of being served by the existing local transport network.

[buildersmate]

Rather than wait for the formal refusal as others have suggested you may be better off trying to discuss with the Planner what there concerns are, so that you can consider withdrawing the Application to enable some variation. This prevents a formal refusal (which makes things harder next time, or if you go to Planning Appeal).

I imagine the difficulty is to do with the detail required on convert the existing building - you would have to invest considerably in converting it sympathetically.

Hope that helps. BM
http://localplan.northwilts.gov.uk/contents_wr itten.htm

[weas]

thank you builders mate, i have now withdrawn the application and am meeting the planner,the problem she has is it is not a suitable buildng, the dairy is sound but it had a tin roof and because some of it has been removed she says the building should be flattened, so i have said we will put it back on but she says it would make the building to different to change materials can we varie the application and resubmit thanks

[buildersmate]

I note from your other thread that you have an architect engaged. These people should know a lot about what is and isn't likely to be acceptable (at least I hope that was the basis under which you engaged him/her).
Again I'm really surprised the Planner is suggesting the building should be flattened since constructing new in 'countryside' and an AONB is pretty difficult. Planners generally WANT to see rural tradional buildings retained. It is generally true that they want to see them converted for business or employment-generating uses - not converted to separate private dwellings. But you are not doing this - B+B is a business venture and as far as I can see from your 2 threads, your property is some type of farm (or was).
Clearly a tin roof is unacceptable and has to be changed - probably to traditional red clay tiles as in the southern part of NW (around Chippenham) or more expensive stone (as in the northen verges of the Planning Area, bordering the S Cotswolds).
Good luck with it. BM