Business is rescued after planning appeal
PLANNING officers took the unusual step of coming to the aid of Warwick businessman who had built up the sides of an open Dutch barn and fallen foul of rules on the use of agricultural land.
Tony Shaw, who supplies catering and hygiene products, moved with his wife Sarah to a farmhouse on Barford Road, near Longbridge island, after realising his storage warehouse in Kenilworth was right in the path of the proposed high speed rail line.
Last June he applied to change the use of the nearby semi-derelict barn to become a secure storage unit. This was initially refused. But after holding talks with planning officers, Mr Shaw got the impression that he could submit another application and so went ahead with filling in the sides of the barn with green timber.
Then he learned that cladding the sides of the barn was flouting rules on the agricultural use of the building. While this would have been acceptable if he was keeping cows in the building, the wooden sides were not acceptable if he was only using the barn to store toilet rolls.
Members of Barford, Sherborne and Wasperton joint parish council also raised an objection on the grounds that the impact of the barn had become greater, affecting the character and appearance of the area as well as highway safety.
In October an automatic enforcement notice was issued for Mr Shaw to tear down the 60 foot of cladding already installed.
He said: “I thought the Government was supposed to be supporting small businesses and relaxing planning laws.”
On Tuesday, when Mr Shaw’s retrospective planning application was considered at Leamington town hall, district planners were told that enforcement officers themselves were applying to withdraw the demolition notice as they felt the re-modelled barn could be accommodated in the landscape.
Despite the parish council objection it was also felt the barn did not present any increased hazard to highway users.
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Saturday 18 May 2013
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