Barn plan gets go-ahead as refusal is overturned
A decision to refuse an application to build a barn on a sloped field has been overturned on appeal.
Welsh Government planning inspectors will allow a barn to be built at The Slangs, Cascob, near Presteigne.
The controversial plans were rejected twice by the committee in February and May 2019.
Nearby residents who opposed the plans by Ella Hammel said they were shocked by the inspector’s decision.
Planning inspector, Joanne Burston, said: “The council refused the application based on its concerns in relation to the scale and location of the proposed building.
“As I saw on my site visit the landscape is an attractive one of undulating, enclosed fields, scattered farmsteads, with a tranquil settled quality.
“In this regard the building would be largely obscured from public view.
“Visibility from public vantage points would inevitably be partial and fleeting.
Design
“Where such views would exist, the building proposed would be seen as an agricultural building with a generally utilitarian design which would not look out of place in this rural setting.
“I am satisfied that the proposed building would not have an unacceptably adverse effect on the valued characteristics and qualities of the Powys landscape hereabouts.”
Ms Burston adds: “I acknowledge the comments made by local residents regarding the status of the agricultural unit and the planning history of the site.
“Nevertheless, such matters are not for me to consider under the legislation.”
A spokesman for residents said: “This decision has stunned Cascob residents.
“The Slangs owner had already been refused several times on her permitted development and full planning applications.”
In March, 2019, a Welsh Government planning inspector upheld an enforcement notice by PCC against Ms Hemmell which stopped the use of the field for residential purposes.
