The proposal concerned a round cabin constructed in timber with a lime rendered wall and a low cone shaped sedum roof, to be used for holiday accommodation, located on a small farm in an isolated site in the countryside. The council stated that local plan policy expressed a clear preference for using existing buildings rather than building new to support farm diversification and the proposal was therefore unacceptable in principle.
The inspector referred to NPPF policy on tourism related development as a material consideration in his decision, specifically paragraph 83 which indicated that planning decisions should enable the expansion of rural business both through conversion and well-designed new buildings. Given a lack of harm to the rural landscape due to the modest scale and design of the hut, and its reasonable accessibility, the inspector considered the holiday hut to be a sustainable form of development. He concluded in the final balance that support for the proposal under more recent relevant national guidance outweighed the conflict with the development plan and allowed the appeal.
Inspector: David Murray; Written representations
