FARMER’S VICTORY IN 2-YEAR PLANNING BATTLE
Appeal win in long-running row over extension for elderly mum:
A GWYNEDD farmer who faced having to tear down an extension he built to house his sick mother has won his planning appeal against the national park, describing it as a “massive weight off” following a two-year battle.
Alun Lewis was refused permission to retain the two-storey side extension at his Nant Cwmbran Isaf farm, near Nasareth, and had launched a lastchance appeal with the planning inspectorate to overturn the enforcement notice on it to be demolished.
The Snowdonia National Park Authority, which has accepted the result, stressed the importance of contacting the planning service for pre-application advice before undertaking any development work.
Mr Lewis, whose wife is an NHS nurse with five children living at the property, admitted the extension was larger than what was approved by the park authority.
He argued that they needed more floorspace, however, as “in hindsight they did not meet his family needs”.
His appeal documents also noted that the work was carried out to help the family care for his elderly mother.
But, after work started on the amended extension, he received a visit from national park enforcement officers, who asked him in 2019 to cease construction, knock down the extension and revert to what he already had permission for.
With Mr Lewis subsequently submitting a retrospective planning application, attracting local support and a petition with hundreds of names, the planning committee refused the application in September 2020, giving the family just a year to revert the farmhouse to its permitted state.
While the footprint of the original farmhouse was 62sq m, the extension alone covers 87sq m, described by park planners as “overdevelopment” and “an incongruous and overly dominant addition to the original dwelling”.
But publishing his report this week, planning inspector Richard Duggan confirmed that the appeal was being permitted, pending certain conditions being met on the extension not being used as a separate dwelling in future.
Mr Lewis said he was “over the moon” about the decision.
“This is a real weight off after two years and I can’t thank those who supported me enough,” he said. “I wish now to just draw a line under the whole saga and move on living in our family home.”
Finding that the extension “does not have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the host property or on the special qualities of the National Park”, Mr Duggan’s report added that the personal circumstances were given only “limited weight” in the final decision. “Contemporary additions and alterations to older buildings can be successful because they purposely contrast in terms of design and materials with those of the original building, and I consider this to be the case in this instance,” he wrote.
“I am not only satisfied that the development respects what is left of the character of the farmhouse, this is an impressive extension that architecturally enhances the property.”
A spokesperson for the Snowdonia National Park Authority said: “The National Park Authority accepts the outcome of the appeal in relation to an enforcement notice served on a twostorey extension at Nant Cwmbran, Nebo, following the refusal of a retrospective planning application in September 2020.
“We would like to emphasise the importance of getting in touch with the Planning Service for pre-application advice before undertaking any development work in order to avoid this kind of situation in the future.”