Vale 'glamping' application rejected by Planners

From the original planning application

The rejection follows more than 30 representations being received from neighbours and others and the Planners decided that the scale of the agricultural building was not proportionate to the agricultural use of the holding and further information was required
to demonstrate that the existing former horticultural building would not be suitable for the proposed agricultural use.

The Development and Planning Authority also found that the scale and particularly the height of the agricultural building and the campsite facilities building would detract from, and have an adverse effect on, the landscape character and openness of the area.

A total of 17 objections were received to the original application and a further 15 to a revised scheme, all of which were concerned about the scale of the development, its impact on residents and the character of the area.

As well as glamping, the application looked to grow tea on site with 140 bushes, which would have required approximately 25sqm of land to accommodate them. It was anticipated that 2 to 3kg of white tea would be generated along with a further 40kg or more black tea after two to three years of established growth. In addition, the applicants anticipated that 40 to 50kg of herbs to compliment the tea products would be generated.

Tea production
Had the scheme gone ahead, two workers would have run the site on a more or less full time basis with a 3rd for part-time duties. During the late summer/early autumn, an additional 2 workers would have helped with site maintenance and cropping along with any bulk product processing.

Finally, the applicants said the aim was "to provide high-end glamping with a unique farm camping experience
with the possibility of growth into complimentary workshops."

Planning summarised the issues as:

• Whether a campsite was acceptable in principle
• Scale, design and impact on the landscape character and openness of the area
• Impact on the reasonable enjoyment of neighbouring properties
• Road safety, traffic management and parking

The rejection letter from Planning is available here