An approach was made by a farmer/landowner (the client) to review a current planning application that was on land near to their farm.
Locally there had been a history of many applications being submitted on small parcels of land for stables, caravans and associated work.
The latest application was for the ‘Provision of holiday chalet for private use’. This was a building, not a caravan, to be used specifically by the applicant when visiting their parcel of land – to attend to the resident horses (the land had a block of stables).
The client had submitted an objection to the proposal to the planning department, as had others and the local Town Council.
The client’s basis of objection was that the proposal had no planning policy justification.
The application was presented to the planning committee with a recommendation for approval, the planning officer presenting that the proposal was in-line with planning policy.
Following a review of the application and the committee report, a 3-minute speech was prepared by Acorus for the client to be read out at the planning committee.
The speech highlighted that the proposal was effectively a building for residential use in the open countryside, which had been presented as a holiday chalet, the proposal having no local or national planning policy justification.
Unfortunately, despite the objections made and the speech by the client at the planning committee meeting, the application was not questioned by the planning committee members and was approved.
Being aggrieved by the decision the client decided to progress the application for a Judicial Review. Via the NFU, Thrings Solicitors undertook the Judicial Review and the planning application was quashed.
The Council accepted that there was a material error in making the decision and agreed that the Court should make an Order quashing the decision.
It will now be interesting if a further application at the site is submitted and on what basis. Likewise, what transpires with other local applications, for various uses and nature, which are still pending.
