GraceMachin Planning & Property have won a significant appeal for clients Midlands Feeds Limited within Newark and Sherwood District, Notts, NG13 9QB.

The appeal being allowed follows a lengthy period of two years consultation with the Local Planning Authority, during which, Officers recommended approval for the scheme twice. However, it was refused twice at Planning Committee.

The ‘major’ application proposed the erection of commercial storage units and a new office for Midlands Feeds Ltd. Total new floor space amounting to circa 1,200 square metres.

The business already operates on adjacent land within the wider Staunton Industrial Estate Area, but the site is defined in the Local Plan as ‘open countryside’.

The application was refused on the basis that the scheme was not small scale and was not a proportionate expansion. Therefore, an unjustified and unsustainable development.

Although the application had been supported with a significant amount of supporting evidence, we were instructed by our client to submit a robust appeal Statement of Case to address the reasons for refusal.

Within the Statement, we were able to address all Policy Considerations and the Inspector agreed that evidence had been submitted and provided to support the proposed development and this outweighed any harm that would result from the proposed scale and location of development in a rural location.

The proposed development would/will provide employment in a rural location and sustain the local rural economy.

Furthermore, GraceMachin set out that the proposal was consistent with paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework which supports, amongst other matters, the sustainable growth and expansion of all types of business in rural areas, both through conversion of existing buildings and well-designed new buildings, and the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based rural businesses.

There was also an important reminder to decision makers within the decision notice which related to the Council seeking to restrict the use of the new buildings to the applicant’s business only.

The Inspector stated that “Planning permission usually runs with the land, and it is rarely appropriate to provide otherwise. There may be exceptional occasions where development that would not normally be permitted may be justified on planning grounds because of who would benefit from the permission. Furthermore, a condition limiting the benefit of the permission to a company is inappropriate because its shares can be transferred to other persons without affecting the legal personality of the company . Consequently, I will not impose a condition limiting the use of the proposed development to Pete Norris Ltd/Midland Feeds”.