DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE – 19 APRIL 2011
APPLICATION NO DC/11/0087/FUL
LOCATION
Land At
Glebe Farm
Church Road
Ellough
Beccles
Suffolk
NR34 7TR
10
EXPIRY DATE
24 May 2011
APPLICATION TYPE
Full Application
APPLICANT
Lord Tim Forrest
PARISH
Ellough
PROPOSAL
Change of use of land to allow siting of 10 timber holiday lodges and 1
timber reception lodge, together with new access from the highway,
parking for cars (alongside each lodge), new trackways, landscaping and
horse paddock areas with new timber post and rail fencing
DO NOT SCALE
Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s
Stationery Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may
lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.
SUMMARY
1.1
The application proposes 10 timber holiday lodges together with an additional lodge for
manager’s accommodation and a reception building. Whilst there would be tourism benefits
from the proposal, the site is in a relatively remote location, and as such is not compliant with
planning policy, and as a result is recommended for refusal.
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SITE DESCRIPTION
2.1
Church Road is a classified Road which runs from Benacre Road at Ellough Airfield to
Sotterley. It is a single track road past the application site. Between the main part of the
application site and Church Road is a paddock, also in the applicant’s ownership. The
southern boundary of the paddock is marked by a hedge and ditch/stream. There is a public
footpath on the southern side of this boundary.
2.2
The main part of the application site is currently is divided into paddocks by tape fencing. It
slopes slightly up to the north and has good hedges to the east (dividing the site from the
paddock), north, west and part of the southern boundaries, but the majority of the southern
boundary is open to view from the footpath.
2.3
The Grange, a dwelling immediately to the north of the application site, is a listed building
(grade 2).
PROPOSAL
3.1
The proposal includes the construction of a new vehicular access at the southern end of the
paddock’s frontage to Church Road, adjacent to the hedge and ditch/stream. From the new
access point a new roadway would be constructed of road planings, 4 metres wide and 120
metres long. A lay-by would be included at the western end of the roadway immediately
before the main party of the application site, while the first 6 metres of the roadway would be
5 metres wide. A new hedge is proposed to be planted on the north side of the roadway,
separating it from the remainder of the paddock.
3.2
The roadway would continue through the centre of the main part of the site to serve 10
wooden lodges, with an eleventh to serve as a reception building. Behind each holiday lodge
would be a paddock, ranging in size from 2650 square metres to 2944 square metres in
area. The paddocks would be divided by a mixture of post and rail fencing 1.2 metres high
and hedging.
3.3
Each lodge would measure approximately 12.2 metres by 6 metres and would provide three
bedroom accommodation. External walls would be cedar boarding with a grey shallow
pitched roof. The reception lodge would be of similar size and appearance and apart from
office accommodation would include a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen for a site manager.
3.4
The application is accompanied by a Transport Assessment, Flood Risk Assessment, Phase
1 Ecological survey, Planning Statement and Tree Survey plan.
3.5
The Planning Statement indicates that it is anticipated that the development will prove
particularly attractive to visitors who own horses (hence the paddocks) to “provide them with
a base from which to venture out on horseback in the local area”. The applicant wishes to
have the option to open all year round. The Planning Statement also indicates that the
development will create 2.7 fte jobs directly and will support a further 1.3 fte jobs indirectly
through visitor expenditure.
3.6
The Flood Risk Assessment includes proposals for a surface water storage basin along the
southern boundary of the site.
CONSULTATIONS/COMMENTS
4.1
Neighbour consultation/representations three neighbours were consulted. Two letters of
objection have been received, making the following points:
 The development would be on a greenfield site.
 Permitted developments should only be at the edge of established larger villages or
towns. Ellough is a scattered group of houses with no local facilities.
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

Access is by a single track road. Additional traffic will put more strain on local roads –
already used as a “rat run between Ellough industrial estate and the A145.
The development would erode the privacy of The Grange, and lead to noise disturbance.
Consultees
4.1
Parish Council: recommend refusal – the Parish Council considered the application at its
recent meeting and declined it with the following observations:
The road leading to the site is a dangerous single track road - this would be dangerous for
the vehicles and the horses heading to the site. There are no speed restrictions on this road.
Application is outside of the Local Development Framework.
Horses/horse riders are mentioned within the application - there are a lack of bridleways in
the area - where would they ride?
These are stated as being holiday lodges - a restriction would be required to ensure that
use of lodges were for holiday use only with no extended residency permitted.
4.2
Suffolk County – Highways Department: recommends five conditions if permission is
granted, covering:
 Vehicular access to be completed first
 Specification of gradient of access
 Specification of gradient of driveway
 Surfacing of access
 Surface water details for access
4.3
Suffolk Wildlife Trust: We have read the ecological survey report and we are satisfied with
the findings of the consultant. We request that the recommendations in section 7 of the
report are implemented in full, via a condition of planning consent, should permission be
granted.
4.4
Suffolk County – Rights of Way: No objections, but make comments on maintaining the
adjacent public right of way.
4.5
Environmental Health – Environmental Protection was consulted on the 4 March 2011.
4.6
WDC Tourism: Positive Tourism development, however need to ensure holiday use and not
residential.
PUBLICITY
4.7
The application has been the subject of the following press advertisement:
Category
Published
Major Application,
04.03.2011
Public Right of Way
Affected,
Major Application,
Public Right of Way
Affected,
04.03.2011
Expiry
24.03.2011
24.03.2011
SITE NOTICES
4.8
The following site notices have been displayed:
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Publication
Beccles and
Journal
Bungay
Lowestoft Journal
WDC General Site Notice
Reason for site notice: Major Application, In the Vicinity of
Public Right of Way, Date posted 08.03.2011 Expiry date
28.03.2011
PLANNING POLICY
5.1
The Waveney Core Strategy (adopted January 2009) includes a number of policies that are
relevant to the consideration of this application. Policy CS01 sets out the Spatial Strategy
for the district and states that areas outside the towns and larger villages will be regarded as
open countryside where the objective is to preserve the countryside for its own sake. Policy
CS02 sets criteria for high quality and sustainable design.
5.2
Policy CS13 is particularly relevant, covering tourism. It states that new tourist
accommodation should be developed in locations that have good public transport links.
Therefore outside the towns and larger villages new-build proposals will not normally be
acceptable.
5.3
The Development Management Policies (adopted in January 2011) are also relevant.
Policy DM24 sets criteria for new build tourist accommodation where this is appropriate.
PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS
6.1
Although the proposed lodges are treated as “caravans” for the purposes of the Caravan
Sites Act, it is considered that they should be regarded in the same light as new-build
accommodation in planning policy terms. The key question is therefore whether the
application site is considered to be a sustainable location.
6.2
There are no facilities (apart from a church) in the immediate vicinity of the application site.
The Planning Statement that was submitted with the application states that the closest shops
to the application site are at Swines Green, Beccles (3.5 km distant), Rigbourne Hill, Beccles
(3.4 km) and Mutford (3.5 km), although it also refers to other facilities within 2 km of the site
including the Fox Inn public house at Willingham, horse riding opportunities on the Sotterley
Estate and the go-kart track and farmers market at Ellough Airfield. The nearest bus service
is on the A145, also within 2 km of the application site.
6.3
The relevance of these distances is that PPG13:Transport mentions that walking has the
potential to replace car trips under 2 km in length, and that cycling can replace car trips
under 5 km in length. The Planning Statement therefore suggests that it would be possible
for persons staying at the site to access the facilities at Beccles without the use of a car.
6.4
Nevertheless it appears highly likely that most people staying at the site will use private cars
while staying on the site – clearly anyone bringing their own horse to the site is likely to
travel in a vehicle towing a horse box. The roads in the vicinity of the site are narrow, unlit
and do not have footpaths, which would discourage walking.
6.5
The Planning Statement also refers to public footpaths close to the site, one of which heads
south-west to the public house at Willingham and the other heads north towards Beccles.
6.6
As noted above, the site is currently open from the public footpath that runs along the
southern boundary of the site and it will appear intrusive in the countryside.
6.7
Although access to the site is via single track roads with passing places, Suffolk County
Highways raise no objections subject to conditions.
6.8
Although the site is adjacent to a listed building (The Grange) it is not considered that the
development would have a significant impact on its setting. There would however be likely to
be some impact on the amenities of the occupiers.
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CONCLUSION
7.1
It is acknowledged that there would be some tourism benefits from this proposal;
nevertheless the site is not considered to be in a sustainable location and on balance it is
recommended that the application should be refused.
RECOMMENDATION
That permission be refused for the following reason:
Policy CS13 of the Waveney Core Strategy (adopted in January 2009) states that new tourist
accommodation should be developed in locations that offer good connectivity with other tourist
destinations and amenities, particularly by public transport, walking and cycling and that outside
these locations new-build development will not normally be acceptable. Although considered as
caravans under Caravan legislation, the local planning authority considers that the proposed
holiday lodges have similar characteristics to permanent buildings, and are proposed to be
retained on the site throughout the year. Accordingly the development should be considered
against Policy CS13. Ellough is a settlement without any facilities and is not considered to be a
sustainable location. The development is therefore considered to be in contravention of this policy,
and if permitted would lead to increased use of private cars, contrary to national and location
policies.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
CONTACT
Case File DC/11/0087/FUL held in Planning Office, Mariners
Street, Lowestoft.
Richard Amor tel. 01502 523013 or
richard.amor@waveney.gov.uk
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