Land at SX 773 357 East Prawle

Land at SX 773 357 East Prawle

Application to determine if prior approval is required for a proposed change of use under Class R of agricultural buildings to a flexible commercial use for Class E (Commercial, Business or Service)
The barn and lean-to attached

Five days earlier, on 6 November, application reference 1543/24/FUL seeking to convert the barn to a holiday let was withdrawn. Shortly before the Case Officer had written In her report :

The proposal would result in the creation of a single open-market dwelling house in an unsustainable isolated rural coastal location devoid of services and facilities and poorly served by sustainable transport options, heavily reliant on the use of a private car. There is no evidence that the proposal requires a coastal location and no exceptional circumstances to justify the proposal in this isolated location.

She had recommended refusal. However, because two pre-application submissions had offered some support for the principle of the proposed development, the Council's Head of Development Management asked that the application should be considered by the Development Management Committee.

But rather than face the probability of refusal by the DMC the applicants decided on another approach, this time to convert the barn to enable it to be utilised for commercial use.

In our objection we pointed out that the formally derelict barn was originally repaired around 22 years ago, but it was not obvious that it had ever been used for agricultural purposes, at least not since the building was repaired. As a consequence the proposal as submitted would not qualify for Class R – agricultural buildings to a flexible commercial use because details submitted are not supported by the evidence.

In addition it was obvious the lean-to failed to qualify for permitted development. It was also hard to see how the barn could be used for flexible commercial use for Class E when it sits in a field with
no vehicle access track.

At the start of the New Year the application was withdrawn.