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Countryside homes application at Thurgarton rejected by Newark and Sherwood District Council




An application to convert a stable building into a home to build four new ones proved a thorny one for a planning committee.

Officers had recommended members of Newark and Sherwood District Council’s planning committee reject the proposal for Thurgarton Quarter because, in their opinion, it was not exceptional enough to outweigh policies of building in the countryside or limiting isolated or unsustainable communities.

The committee was told the site was in open countryside and made up of numerous buildings that were not in agricultural use at present.

Castle House (5174389)
Castle House (5174389)

Officers argued the proposed homes were not exceptional in design or energy efficient enough to be exceptional, contrary to the suggestion of the applicant the development would be similar in stature to the nearby Bank Wood Farm scheme, which would be a rural exemplar when finished.

The parish council supported the proposal unanimously. A spokesman said residents had taken time to write in support and embraced the concept. They said it was every bit as good as Bank Wood.

Committee member Malcolm Brock said he would like to see the development go ahead.

Tom Smith said it would visually enhance the area.

“This is the sort of housing I would like to see in district,” he said.

Committee chairman Roger Blaney said: “Getting from Thurgarton to Thurgarton Quarter is challenging at best other than on foot or horseback.

“The site is very run down and a bit of an eyesore. But there are an awful lot of rundown barns and farm complexes across the whole of Newark and Sherwood, which is a third of Nottinghamshire.”

He said small isolated groups of housing dotted around the countryside with no public transport or facilities relied on private transport, making them unsustainable. He argued that was why the council had a policy on sustainable housing and approval would be a departure from its development plan.

A vote for refusal was lost 6-5. However, nobody immediately offered an alternate proposal. Members were warned the application could not be left undetermined as it carried a risk to the council.

After an adjournment for a legal briefing, Penny Rainbow moved approval, which was seconded by Malcolm Brock.

Reasons given were the existence of Bank Wood, which reduced the site’s isolation, and that the site had been developed before so was not virgin countryside.

That was then put to the vote and it was passed by a majority and conditions attached.



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