Two-bedroom rural dwelling at Barn At Hounsley View Pool Lane, Winford

The site and its setting

The empty site is in Winford countryside, at the junction of Pool Lane, Cock Hill and Yew Tree Hill, beside a residential property.

“The application site is located within countryside of Winford at the junction of Pool Lane, and Cock and Yew Tree Hill. The site is empty due to the demolition of the agricultural barn in late 2024. Adjoining the site at the western boundary is a residential property.”

Officer report

What happened before

Permission was granted to convert the barn and later extend it, but the barn was demolished, leading to an enforcement complaint and this retrospective application.

“An agricultural barn that was granted permission to be converted to a dwelling (ref 23/P/1107/CQA) was demolished in late 2024. However, this demolition was not permitted under prior approval 23/P/1107/CQA as that application only approved a conversion and not the demolition and rebuild of the building. For clarity, a later planning permission (ref 24/P/0832/FUL) was granted to extend the building as part of the conversion but did not supersede the conversion permission.”

“Thus, the building had permission to be converted to a dwelling (23/P/1107/CQA) and to add extensions to that building during the conversion (24/P/0832/FUL). Instead, the building was demolished. This necessitated a complaint to the planning enforcement team (24/00505/BCN), which led to the current retrospective application for the erection of a dwelling.”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended refusal because the isolated countryside dwelling lacked policy support, harmed Green Belt openness and had no very special circumstances to outweigh that harm.

“As no exceptions that would permit a new build dwelling in the Green Belt can be demonstrated, the proposal constitutes inappropriate development within the Green Belt that would be harmful to the openness of the Green Belt. Paragraph 153 of the NPPF says that ‘inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances.”

“The site is open to the northeast agricultural land, and the new dwelling would be prominent from Pool Lane and block the open and rural character of the area visually and spatially. The new development will be harmful to the openness of the Green Belt as an inappropriate development, which should not be approved except in very special circumstances.”

Officer report

What people said

Four letters supported the proposal, citing previously approved plans, structural challenges, housing goals, family needs and site improvement; the parish council also supported it.

“Third Parties: Four letters of support have been received. The principal planning points made are as follows:”

“Continuation of Previously Approved Plans • Structural Challenges • Alignment with Government Housing Goals • Multi-Generational Living and Educational Stability at Chew Stoke School • Aesthetic Improvement of the Site…”

Officer report

Who addressed the committee

A resident spoke for the applicant, and Councillor Annemieke Waite addressed the committee as the non-voting ward member.

What members discussed

Members asked about the existing house, possible extensions or annexes, rebuilding and conversion, Green Belt balance, bat zones, material considerations and sustainability.

“Members debated the application and asked questions to which officers responded. Questions were raised regarding the existing house on the site and whether an extension or an annex could be granted in the green belt, whether the barn could be re-built to then be converted, whether tilted balance applies to Green Belt land, bat zones, material consideration and the sustainability of the location.”

Minutes

The committee’s decision

The committee refused the application in line with the officer recommendation because the isolated development was unsustainable and harmful inappropriate development in the Green Belt.

“Resolved: that the application be REFUSED in line with officer recommendation as stated in the report.”

“The proposal constitutes inappropriate development within the Green Belt that would be harmful to the openness of the Green Belt and conflict with the purposes of including land within it. No very special circumstances outweigh the harm caused and the proposal is therefore contrary to policy CS6 of the North Somerset Core Strategy, policy DM12 of the North Somerset Sites and Policies Plan (Part 1) and the National Planning Policy Framework.”

Minutes