South Gloucestershire councillors have approved the expansion of a car park onto an agricultural field to serve a new farm shop and cafe near Bristol. The council members voted 8-0, with one abstention, to grant permission for the extension at Tolldown Farm, Dyrham, even though it was recommended for refusal.
Planning officers had argued that the proposals would damage the rural setting and were not justified. However, 18 residents wrote in support of the application by John Doubleday, who has farmed the land for 45 years.
The development management committee agreed and gave the green light after hearing that the 30 parking spaces for visitors and staff of the farm shop on the adjacent field would not be additional bays but rather a reconfiguration of the existing car park for safety reasons. The farm shop is currently under construction and will be run by the Fine Cheese Company.
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The officers' report to the meeting stated that the site was located in the open countryside within the Cotswolds National Landscape, next to the greenbelt and opposite a Grade II-listed pub.
It also noted that the application was a resubmission of one that was refused last December and that nothing had changed to warrant consent.
The report highlights: "The proposed additional spaces would further result in an intensification of the site to a harmful degree, amounting to a visual intrusion of the landscape and its vista and, if allowed, would detract from the scenic beauty that the openness and character of the surrounding countryside currently offers."
It also states: "Given that the resubmitted proposal has not reduced the number of proposed spaces or made any notable changes to mitigate the overall impact, these concerns remain outstanding.
"Overall, whilst no highway safety objection has been raised by officers, the need for increasing the parking to a considerable degree has not been sufficiently demonstrated."
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Planning agent Matthew Blaken informed the committee that the car park extension would incorporate a modest expansion onto a small section of a field to reorganise existing parking bays.
Blaken insisted there would be no increase in parking slots and that the move would prevent on-road parking while noting 15 jobs would be generated with the opening of the farm shop.
South Gloucestershire Council highways officer Ali Khayatian mentioned that a new entryway would be established on a straight stretch of road with ample visibility.
He said: "The new access is safe. They're not proposing an additional access because they are closing one."
Committee chair Cllr Tristan Clark (Lib Dem, Frampton Cotterell) told the meeting on Thursday, May 15: "The benefits of supporting local business outweigh the level of harm to the Cotswolds National Landscape."
The farm shop and cafe were granted planning permission in 2021, allowing the partial demolition of the bakery and an extension for the new enterprise.
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