Parish says no to farm shed approval bid

A bid to backdate planning consent on a farm shed has run up against opposition from parish councillors.

Market Drayton-based Barbers Rural Consultancy, acting for a client, wants retrospective planning consent for an agricultural building erected on land south of Woolfall Hall Farm, near Hankelow.

But Buerton Parish Council says it cannot support the application as submitted and wants clarification on several aspects of the bid.

A letter to Cheshire East Council's planning department comments:

"At the recent meeting of Buerton Parish Council it was agreed that the Council cannot support this application in its present form and requires clarification of the following points."

"The site address is not Woolfall Hall Farm and the exact location is not clearly defined. The applicant is not resident on the site, or at Woolfall Hall Farm, and is not associated with it."

"The existing building listed for the retrospective approval is not the only one on the site. A stable block exists and further building works appear to be in hand not covered by this application or any other current or previous application."

"The Design and Access statement lists the present and intended use of the site as grazing for cattle and/or horses, but the type and quantity of machinery currently stored on the site would seem far in excess of that required for this area of land, a mere 7 acres, and could well constitute the basis for a business for off-site working thereby requiring an application (retrospective again?) for change of use."

A Design and Access Statement in support of the application says the applicant does reside at Woolfall Hall Farm and owns the seven-acre parcel of land.

It says the site is farmed as a smallholding and used for grazing cattle and horses. It says the land is not part of any large commercial agricultural business.

The statement adds that farm shed was erected to house the animals in poor weather and is needed to store bedding and feed for the livestock. The application says machinery stored there, including a mini-digger is for use on this land only.

The retrospective application is to be determined by a Cheshire East planning officer under delegated authority with a decision target date set at September 13th 2013.

Full details of the plans can be seen by clicking the reference number 13/3067N here.

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