Higher Ponchydown Farm, Blackborough, CULLOMPTON, EX15 2HE

Retrospective siting of a temporary agricultural workers dwelling

Authority: East Devon District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: agricultural · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Kent R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether there is an essential need for a second dwelling to accommodate a rural worker
whether the site is in a suitable location having regard to the development plan policies concerned with the location of new housing, including the effect of the development on the Blackdown Hills National Landscape

What decided it

The compelling evidence of animal welfare and worker safety risks from night-time calving and early morning milking established an essential agricultural need for a resident second worker, and no landscape or locational harm was found to weigh against this.

Plan policies cited: Policy H4, Strategy 7, Strategy 46, Strategy 5B, Policy TC2

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What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.
- Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
- Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
- Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
- Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.
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