Farm could be home to new rail museum
A FARM with its own shop is set to get a railway museum on the site, as well as three homes.
A planning application for Cross Roads Farm, near Eastwell, north east of Melton, is being decided this week after being recommended for approval by Melton District Council’s planning officers.
The two-acre site would see two dwellings built, along with a joiners’ workshop, a new farm shop and cafe and a new building to be used as a railway museum.
The old farm shop would become a third house.
Some of the current buildings, which would be removed or converted, are described as non-traditional farm buildings, made from a mixture of breeze blocks, timber and corrugated metal.
There is also a farmhouse and a range of other traditional farm buildings which are grade II-listed and would remain.
What is currently the farm shop is due to be converted into a home and two other buildings on the site
– a milking parlour and a potato shed – are also to become homes.
The council would have no power to stop the agricultural buildings becoming homes because of planning rules that make it easy for farm buildings to be converted, within limits.
Explaining in their report to councillors why they support the application, the planning officers wrote: “It is considered that the proposed redesign, architectural detailing and layout would be to the betterment of its rural location, enhancing the setting of the adjacent listed buildings, Cross Road Farm House and Barn, to the north east of the site, providing a high-quality mixed use development.”
They added that it would be “sympathetic to the character of the area” and there would be “no adverse impact on protected species”.
The council received two objections and three letters of support from neighbours when it consulted on the plan.