Horse business owner’s bungalow plan turned down

THE owner of a highly successful Arab horse business has been refused planning permission to build a bungalow for his son.

Patrick Stimpson owns several Arab horses, and his award winning animals are reared in the village of Foxt before being sold to Arabian countries.

However, at the last meeting of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s planning applications committee, members turned down his plans to build a bungalow on land adjacent to Sunny View in Foxt Road.

A report to councillors by planning officer, Benjamin Hurst, said: “The bungalow would be a large threebedroom property laid out on an L shaped footprint that would present a gable projection to the roadside at the front.

“It would be built using stone facing materials and plain clay tiles incorporating lintel details above windows and coping stones to roof verges.

“Submitted site plans and cross sections provide levels details to show how the land would be excavated by a depth of up to 1.5m over most of the plot to provide an access drive into the site with areas of parking and turning for at least three vehicles, and a levelled surface for the foundations of the bungalow.

“The plot would be enclosed by stone walls and the wall to the roadside front would be retained, but reduced to a height of 1.5m.”

Ipstones Parish Council supported the application on the grounds the site was in between two sets of ribbon developments and therefore was infill.

Speaking to the planning committee, district and parish councillor, Linda Malyon, said: “The parish council would prefer this kind of development to be seen in Foxt for local people.

“This application is so his son can be on hand and that they can continue with the successful Arab horse business. The horses need constant care and attention.

“The applicant is getting older and the seven stallions he has, plus mares, need someone younger to help look after the business.

“The bungalow would be in line with the houses that are already there.”

But planning committee member Ben Emery said that there was no genuine need.

He said: “We now have a local plan. There are new regulations to be looked at.

“This would start a ribbon development in an elevated site.”

Eleven councillors voted in favour of refusal, with two abstentions.