Agenda item

Application to remove redundant horse shelter and stores and replace with modern stabling (re-submission of WE/14/02789/FUL).

Mr Saunders presented this planning application to remove redundant horse shelter and stores and replace with modern stabling (re-submission of WE/14/02789/FUL) and drew attention to a sequence of slides consisting of (a) aerial photographs (one with a zoom image); (b) a site plan; (c) photographs (various views); and (d) proposal plans. In reply to a member’s clarification question he advised that all but one of the existing buildings would be removed; the field shelter would be retained.  

There were no entries in the agenda update sheet in respect of this application.

The following member of the public addressed the Planning Committee:

·         Mr R Briscoe (Westbourne Parish Council) – parish representative objecting to the application.

During the discussion a majority of members expressed concerns about the application with reference to the allegedly observed unsatisfactory condition and care of the animals kept in the field, the size and suitability of the land for the proposed use having regard to para 1 of Policy 55 (Equestrian Development) in the Chichester Local Plan ie overdevelopment, and the justification for a stable of the proposed size in any event given the number of the animals on the site and particularly in view of the retention of the field shelter. It was questioned whether this type of upgrade was necessary and there was speculation as to what might be the ultimate intended use of the site. The details of construction of the proposed modern stabling were queried. 

In reply to members’ questions and comments Mr Saunders advised with respect to: 

(a)  The number of animals which would be kept on the site if approval were to be granted: three ie the existing horse and donkey and an additional horse. .

(b)  The British Horse Society guidance was precisely that – there were various variables such as what a horse ate, its size, the time of the year and weather – and its advice that there should be two horses kept to a hectare should be interpreted accordingly. The applicant owned other land to the south of the site.

(c)  The details of the existing and proposed buildings and the dimensions of the site.

(d)  The potential for the conversion of the proposed stable to an alternative use would be the subject of planning control and condition 4 (stable – no commercial use) was being recommended.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Planning Committee voted first of all on the officer recommendation to permit: five members were in favour of permitting and seven were against it. The recommendation was not, therefore, carried.

It was then proposed by Mr Oakley and duly seconded by Mrs Tassell that the application should be refused on the grounds of overdevelopment of the site and hence non-compliance with para 1 of Policy 55 of the Chichester Local Plan namely inadequate land for the number of horses to be kept on it.

Refuse for the following reason:

The removal of a redundant horse shelter and stores and erection of modern stabling would by reason of its size and siting on a paddock of a size well below the standards set out by the British Horse Society for the Keeping of Horses result in an overdevelopment of the site of a structure of excessive size, detrimental to the welfare of the animals to be kept on site. As such the proposal would be contrary to Policy 55 of the Chichester Local Plan: Key Policies 2014-2029.

[Note This decision was contrary to the planning officer’s recommendation]