Agenda item

Erection of cladding on an existing agricultural building to house agricultural vehicles and to store animal feed.

Dovecote Farm  Sutterton Drove  Amber Hill  Boston  PE21 8EX

Mr and Mrs Johnson

Erection of cladding on an existing agricultural building to house agricultural vehicles and to store animal feed.

Dovecote Farm, Sutterton Drove, Amber Hill, Boston, PE20 3RF

Mr Johnson  

The Development Manager presented the report with no updates to the report issued.

Representation was received in objection to this application from Mr Crust which included:

Mr Crust pointed out that he was representing himself and nobody else because of the other applications he had submitted which he felt had not been treated the same.  Committee were advised that should they pass the application without adding a further condition as the barn was not put in through Class Q because it was not structurally sound and could not be converted under Class Q.  The application was to re clad an agricultural barn and if the barn was maintained and re clad, it had been in agricultural use on the 20^th March 2013, there would be an application on Class Q to turn it into another house. 

The Chairman interjected at this point and stated there was no definition of such an application at the current time.

Mr Crust continued by saying that if the barn was made structurally sound without a condition being added that it be kept in agricultural use, it would revert back to a possibility of a Class Q conversion which would at that point be structurally sound.

The Chairman stopped the timing clock and the Legal Officer made the following comment:   ‘The application before committee was for cladding on an agricultural barn and that was all that was before the committee for determination’.

Mr Crust continued by saying if you clad a barn to a structurally sound condition with a condition that it remain in agricultural and not be converted under Class Q he would have no issue with the application.  He concluded stating he did not wish to see the Class Q policy misused. 

Representation was received from the agent Ms McIntee which included:

The family did not intend to convert the barn into a dwelling because it would be used as storage facility for their animal feed and other machinery as the site was a small holding.  It appeared obvious that there appeared to be some personal vendetta against the applicant with so many objections be tabled throughout the process.

The meeting adjourned for a two minute recess at this point to allow the Legal Officer and the Development Manager to liaise.

The Development Manager advised committee that referring to para.55 of the NPPF it stated that planning conditions should be kept to a minimum and only imposed when necessary and relevant to planning and the development to be permitted.  As the Legal Officer has stated the application was only for the cladding of the building:  what may or may not happen to the building thereafter was not relevant to the permission and as such it would not accord with the NPPF to attach such a condition.

It was moved by Councillor Jonathan Noble and seconded by Councillor Paul Skinner  that the application be granted in line with officers recommendation, subject to the conditions and reasons therein:

RESOLVED:  That the application be granted in line with officer recommendation subject to the following conditions and reasons

1.             The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

           Reason:  Required to be imposed pursuant to Section 51 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

2.             The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in strict accordance with the application received 11^th May 2018 and in accordance with the associated plans referenced: -

§  1/4 Site Location Plan (1:1250) drwg no. 301

§  2/4 Site Block Plan (1:200) drwg no. 302

§  4/4 Floor Plan and Elevation drwg no. 304

Reason:  For the avoidance of doubt, in the interests of proper planning and to accord with the objectives of Local Plan Policy G1.