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COMBINED DESIGN, ACCESS AND PLANNING STATEMENT

FOR
LAND AT BARTONS CORNER, SHALFLEET
FOREWORD
This Design and Access Statement has been prepared by DICKSONS Planning &
Development Consultants. It has been prepared under the guidelines suggested by the
Councils own published Guidance (Development management Service Design & Access
Statements and also in accordance with Policies SP1, SP4 and DM1 of the Councils
Core Strategy.

THE SITE & CONTEXT

The site is situated immediately adjacent to the A 3045, over a short distance to the east,
just before the actual village of Shalfleet. Immediately to the north of the site lies a Garage
with a car sales forecourt (and it was formerly a petrol filling station). There is also a Farm
shop on the garage site and there are two dwellings in the vicinity of the site. Otherwise,
the site lies adjacent to open countryside. The existing use of the site is agriculture, and
the site area is approximately 1.2 ha. The site is mainly level in character and at more or
less the same level as that of the adjacent main road.

PROPOSAL
There are several purposes behind the submission of this planning application. The
application is being made as it is understood that the local planning authority (LPA)
consider there to be some unauthorised uses on the site. The other purpose behind
application is to set out how the site is to be used, and what action is to be taken with
regard to the allegedly unauthorised uses. Thus the main aim of this application is twofold.
Firstly, the application seeks to regularise the uses and existing buildings on the site
(some to be extinguished/removed, and some to be retained). The second aim is to set out
the intended uses for the site, some of which it is considered do not actually require the
grant of planning permission. The detail of these proposals is set out in this statement, the
application form and in the accompanying drawings.

PLANNING HISTORY & PRE-APPLICATION CONSULTATION

Planning history:
Planning permission was granted on 17 August 2009 for a detached agricultural Barn on
the property, and the location shown on the application drawings. This planning permission
was implemented (in 2011) prior to its expiry by the construction of the foundations and
oversite for the proposed Barn, and it is understood the local planning authority accept this

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position. This application envisages that the approved Barn will be constructed during the
life of the planning permission hereby applied for.
In addition, and as already mentioned above, it is understood that the local planning
authority consider there to be a number of unauthorised uses and/or activities on the
property. To this end, correspondence and discussions between the applicant and the LPA
have been ongoing during 2014, culminating in an email from the councils planning officer
dated 5 June 2014, which was subsequently followed by a formal REQUISITION FOR
INFORMATION being sent by the LPA to the applicant, dated 30 September 2014. The
alleged breaches of planning control which the LPA consider to be relevant or detailed in
the LPAs planning officers email of 12 June 2014, a copy of which is attached to this
statement as appendix a. It should be noted that notwithstanding the submission of this
application, the applicant does not necessarily accept that the alleged breaches of
planning control exist.
Pre Application Consultation:
Pre Application advice was sought from the local planning authority, and a meeting was
held with the councils planning officer on the 30th September 2014. At that meeting the
proposals now put forward in this application were discussed with the councils planning
officer and we believe that the planning officer indicated their support for the application as
submitted.

RELEVANT PLANNING POLICY

National Planning Policy Framework:
SECTION 3 SUPPORTING A PROSPEROUS RURAL ECONOMY:
28. Planning policies should support economic growth in rural areas in order to
create jobs and prosperity by taking a positive approach to sustainable new
development. To promote a strong rural economy, local and neighbourhood
plans should:
-

support the sustainable growth and expansion of all types of business and
enterprise in rural areas, both through conversion of existing buildings and well
designed new buildings:

promote the development and diversification of agricultural and other landbased rural businesses;

support sustainable rural tourism and leisure developments that benefit

businesses in rural areas, communities and visitors, and which respect the
character of the countryside. This should include supporting the provision and
expansion of tourist and visitor facilities in appropriate locations where
identified needs are not met by existing facilities in rural service centres; and

promote the retention and development of local services and community

facilities in villages, such as local shops, meeting places, sports venues,
cultural buildings, public houses and places of worship.

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Isle of Wight Core Strategy:

POLICY DM8 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
The Council will, in principle and in line with national policy, support growth in
economic development. The Council will support proposals for:
-

5. Rural economic development opportunities and farm diversification schemes

that contribute to the sustainability of the wider countryside.

7.136 There are a large number of farm, and other rural buildings, in the
countryside which could benefit from re-use and conversion. In line with PPS4:
Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth, which encourages the conversion
and re-use of existing buildings, this policy seeks to make the best use of
existing buildings in rural areas for economic development. The re-use of
buildings can encourage farm diversification schemes to be developed and,
importantly, reduce the demand for new buildings in the countryside, reduce
the loss of agricultural land and greenfield sites.

THE PLANNING APPLICATION PROPOSALS

As already alluded to above, this application seeks to regularise the uses and buildings
and structures etc. currently on site. In addition the application sets out how part of the site
will be used for the agricultural business of Worm Farming in pursuit of Vermicomposting.
Vermicomposting is the process by which worms (the common blue-nose earthworm) are
used to compost organic material into Vermicompost or worm castings (the nutrient
rich compost we are all used to seeing at the end of a worm burrow). The Vermicompost
will be produced for wholesale sale to the agricultural and gardening industries. In
addition part of the site will be used for the keeping of a small number of chickens and
alpacas, as shown on the application drawings. In the interests of clarity, this section is set
out in three parts, the first part being the regularisation section, with the second part being
the proposed uses/proposals requiring the grant of planning permission and the third part
is for these element which do not, in themselves, require the grant of planning permission
(please also refer to the photographs at Appendix B and to the application drawings in
respect of this section).
REGULARISATION:
This application seeks permission for the following:
-

The removal of two piles of spoil (shown as spoil heaps on the application
drawings).
The reduction in size of the existing area of hard-standing on the site, as shown on
the application drawings.
The retention of the existing log store as shown on the application drawings.
The retention of the existing alpaca shelter on site, as shown in the application
drawings. The shelter provides essential shelter for the five breeding alpacas
which live on site.

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The removal of part of the open fronted store area construction, as shown on the
application drawings.
The removal of the horse trailer/box which is currently stored at the site, as shown
in the application drawings.
The removal from site of all non-essential vehicles and equipment which are
currently stored on the existing hard-standing, as shown on the application
drawings.

PLANNING PERMISSION:
The application hereby submitted seeks planning permission for the following elements,
which go hand in hand with the regularisation elements set out above:
-

The temporary re-siting of three metal containers currently on the site, to a new
location on top of the base for the proposed (and approved) new Barn.
The re-use of part of the covered storage area as a hay and feed store, with that
part of the buildings on site being re-clad in a wavy-edged board to match that of
the existing tool shed, as shown on the application drawings.
The conversion of the open deck area construction on-site, into an area for the
keeping of chickens.
The reuse of the lean-to shed as a tool shed, as shown on the application drawings.
The retention of the reduced-sized hard-standing area on site, and its use for the
parking of vehicles for persons working on site in connection with the proposed
worm compost farming operation and the keeping of the chickens and alpacas.

DEVELOPMENT NOT REQUIRING PLANNING PERMISSION:

The following proposed elements do not in themselves require planning permission, as
explained below, but the combined elements set out under regularisation and planning
permission above hand-in-hand with the elements set out below:
-

The construction of 10 no. Worm beds for the purpose of Worm Farming in pursuit
of Vermicomposting. Vermicomposting is the process by which worms (the
common blue-nose earthworm) are used to compost organic material into
Vermicompost or worm castings (the nutrient rich compost we are all used to
seeing at the end of a worm burrow). The Vermicompost will be produced for
wholesale sale to the agricultural and gardening industries.
The completion of the Barn, which has planning permission and which has already
been commenced, to house worm propagation units, a small administrative area
and storage area for worm casts and additional storage for machinery and
equipment associated with the use of the site for the worm composting business,
and the keeping of chickens and alpacas.
The continued use of the existing access for the purposes of the Worm
Farming/Vermicompost business and the keeping of chickens and alpacas. It
should be noted that the worm compost will be distributed from the site using
relatively small transit van vehicles and that it is not intended to commence a retail
operation selling any compost to the general public as such.

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JUSTIFICATION
As has already been discussed above, there are various elements to this application.
Therefore, this justification is set out in two sections regularisation and planning
permission and development not requiring permission. The main objectives of this
application are twofold: the first objective is to seek the agreement of the LPA in
regularising the uses and structures on the site (of most benefits to the LPA) and the
second objective is to assist the applicant in achieving their primary aim of creating the
Worm Farming/Vermicompost business on the site. This application therefore seeks to
strike a balance between these two interests, for the benefit of all concerned.

ACCESS
The site already enjoys an existing access to Main Road in Shalfleet, as shown on the
application drawings. The use of this access for the partially constructed new barn building
was approved as part of the planning approval for the barn. There is an existing hardstanding on site, and we understand that previous use of the access, together with the use
generated by the permitted barn would be likely to generate traffic movements associated
with up to 4 vehicles coming and going to the site, connected with its use as an
agricultural unit, with the permitted barn. The application proposes a maximum of four car
parking spaces, with two people working on the site on a permanent basis. It is not
intended that anything produced on-site will be sold on a retail basis to the general
public, rather the compost produced by the worm compost operation (which we believe
does not in itself require planning permission) will be delivered from site on a wholesale
basis to forms and garden centres et cetera. Deliveries will be made using transit van
type vehicles. It is likely that they will be one, perhaps two such vehicles used for this
purpose. It is also likely that at least one of these vehicles will be the vehicle used by one
of the permanent staff. The proposed traffic generation is therefore low and is certainly no
more than the existing use. We therefore contend that the existing access is more than
sufficient to serve the needs of the site is proposed, notwithstanding that the worm
composting business does not in itself require planning permission, and there is an
existing access to the site and vehicle movements associated with it.

REGULARISATION & PLANNING PERMISSION

Obviously the regularisation elements do not in themselves require any kind of planning
permission. Notwithstanding that the applicant does not necessarily agree that the
breaches of planning control alleged do exist, from the pre-application meeting there
seems to be agreement between the applicant and the council as to which elements
should be regularised as part of the overall solution for the site proposed in this
application.
The elements which require planning permission (as listed above) are not in themselves
major or significant elements. The resizing of the three metal containers is for a
temporary period only, whilst construction of the Barn is arranged and takes place. If
necessary, the applicant would accept a time limit condition on this element something in
the order of 18 months would suffice.

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The reuse of buildings and construction relates to elements that already exist on site and
the use proposed for them is agricultural in nature. With regard to the area of hardstanding, this is significantly reduced in the application and whatever use the site is
ultimately put to it is not unreasonable to expect there to be some area of hard-standing for
the parking of a small number of attendant vehicles and agricultural equipment, etc.
associated with any activity on the site. It is suggested that the regularisation quotes
elements balance out the elements which require planning permission.
In terms of planning policy, the elements which require planning permission are clearly
supported by the planning policy contained at section 3, paragraph 23 of the National
planning policy framework and by policy DM8 of the Isle of Wight core strategy.

DEVELOPMENT NOT REQUIRING PERMISSION

By definition, these elements do not in themselves require planning permission. This is by
virtue of either their scale and nature (in the case of the worm beds) or by virtue of the
extant planning permission for the Barn.
With regard to the worm beds, these are agricultural in nature, and in terms of their
physical size they are each 1 m high, 2 m wide and 25 m in length. A detail drawing of
them is shown in the application drawings, and a photograph of such a typical worm bed is
included at appendix B to this statement.
Worm Farming and Vermicomposting is the process by which worms are used to convert
organic materials into a humus-like material known as Vermicompost or worm castings.
The goal is to create a nutrient and mineral rich soil amendment. Vermicompost is also
suitable for further processing into liquid plant nutrient products for use on farms, golf
courses, recreation areas, plant nurseries, residential lawns and gardens, etc.
The analysis of worm castings (Vermicompost) reveals that they are many times richer in
major plant nutrients than even the most fertile soil. The rich castings are water soluble
and slowly release their nutrients to the plants, making them immediate plant food. Worm
castings are usually P.H. neutral, making them safe for all plants and they will not burn the
most delicate of plants.
Worm castings make the finest natural organic potting compost for multi-purpose use:
sowing seeds, potting on, and for use as a medium for boosting the fertility of exhausted
potting soils. Worm castings can be sprinkled on the surface of the soil in seed drills and
around plants that need a booster and then watered-in. Fruit and Vegetables not only grow
faster, but are also better tasting and healthier than chemical plants, which can be very
bitter due to the salts that are present in most chemical fertilizers. Because worm castings
are produced from 100% recycled wastes, you are also contributing to a cleaner, less
polluted environment. This is very much an Eco-Friendly activity, in line with the ethos of
Eco Island.
Fertilizing newly planted trees and shrubs with worm casts promotes sound growth without
forcing, eliminating soft growth, which can easily burn in severe winter killing a young tree.
Because of the better growth of plants fertilized with worm castings they are less likely to
succumb to pests and diseases.

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And, one should notice a significant improvement in the colours of flowers due to the high
potash content of worm castings. The high phosphates and potash content of worm
castings make it the perfect product for use as a top dressing for promoting lush
hardwearing turf.
Vermicompost will be sold neat in sealed bags to the gardening and agricultural industries,
and distributed using smaller sized transit van vehicles (maximum of 2). Although
harmless to any growing plant, they are much stronger in nutrients than required to do the
job of a multi-purpose compost, or grow-bag etc. In terms of traffic generation, there will be
up to two full time employees on site. Combined with the deliveries by Transit Van, which
will generate approximately 6 return trips by van per day, the use of the existing access to
the property will be no greater than it is at present, or than it would be with any other
permissible use of the site.
The construction of the Barn will be completed in accordance with the extant planning
permission.
These elements do go hand-in-hand with the elements of regularisation and those
requiring planning permission as described above. The result of the entire package of
elements proposed in this application represents what the applicant considers to be a
satisfactory and mutually acceptable solution/resolution for the site, which will allow the
applicant to establish the agricultural/rural worm composting business in this sustainable
location.

CONCLUSION
We contend that the proposal complies with both local and national planning policies
(Island Plan and NPPF) as described in this Statement. The application also proposes a
solution/resolution for the site comprising of a number of different elements as described
above, all of which go together to provide a comprehensive, balanced, reasonable and
hopefully acceptable way forward. We do not believe that there are not any sufficiently
material grounds for refusal of the Application, which would stand the test of an Appeal to
any refusal.
We therefore feel that the Council should look favourably on this submission.

DICKSONS Planning & Development Consultants.

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APPENDIX A
PLANNING OFFICERS EMAIL OF 5TH JUNE 2014

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APPENDIX B

PHOTOGRAPH OF TYPICAL WORM BED

AND ANNOTATED PHOTOGRAPH OF
EXISTING BUILDINGS

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TYPICAL WORM BED

EXISTING BUILDINGS ETC. ON SITE