Revised Deposit Plan - Wychavon District Council

development may be justified in the countryside is to serve the needs of
agriculture or in exceptional circumstances rural workers’ dwellings, where it is
necessary to the operation for workers to live on site. Whether this is essential
will depend upon the business activity concerned and not on the personal
preferences or circumstances of any particular individual – generally it is as
appropriate for such workers to live in nearby settlements and not on the site.
5.2.37. Rural workers’ dwellings will be required to follow the same tests as
agricultural workers’ dwellings and permissions will be subject to conditions
tying the dwelling to the business.
5.2.38. Government advice contained in PPG7 (Annex I), states that proposals for
new permanent agricultural dwellings should only be allowed where they
satisfy the functional and financial tests and these will be used when
considering applications.
5.2.39. The functional test requires the applicant to demonstrate that for the efficient
functioning of the unit there is a genuine long term need for one or more fulltime
workers, primarily employed in agriculture, to be readily available at most
times and that this could not be achieved by the use of an existing dwelling, or
a building suitable for conversion, either on the holding or in the locality. A
case based solely on grounds of security will rarely be sufficient. Furthermore,
the Council will investigate the history of the site to establish whether
buildings, which may have been a potential source of accommodation, have
been disposed of previously - in the Council’s opinion this may would
constitute lack of evidence of a lack of agricultural need for accommodation to
serve the needs of the holding.
5.2.40. The applicant will also have to demonstrate that the proposal satisfies the
financial test referred to in PPG7 (Annex I) - that the unit and the agricultural
activity have been in operation for at least three years, have been profitable for
at least one of them, are economically sound and have the potential to remain
so. A planning application should therefore be accompanied by an
independent, comprehensive appraisal of the functional need for a dwelling
with supporting financial information. It should be noted that the economic
viability relates to the agricultural activity as well as the unit as a whole.
Therefore, on an established farm it would not be appropriate to allow a new
permanent dwelling for a new agricultural activity unless the activity itself is
proved viable.
5.2.41. Proposals for a new home to accommodate a retired agricultural or rural
worker will not be acceptable and are not in accordance with this Policy.
5.2.42. The Council is keen to minimise future problems of affordability of agricultural
dwellings for agricultural wage earners and will therefore not accept unusually
large or expensively constructed dwellings that would be difficult to sustain in
the long term on an agricultural income. It is, therefore, generally anticipated
that the habitable accommodation (i.e. excluding garaging, but including e.g.
office space) should not exceed 150sq m in area (as measured in externally).
Furthermore, the dwelling should be in keeping with its setting and
surroundings, and sited and designed to minimise any harmful impact on the
landscape or environment.
Wychavon District Local Plan Revised Deposit (July 2003) Page 101
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cont’d
142
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