Communities and Housing - Rural Housing

The Council will be supportive of single or small-scale residential development in the Rural Protection Area, as shown on the Rural Area Map, only where it can be demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the Council, that the houses are required on a permanent basis:

1. for an agricultural worker employed full time on the farm to which the proposed house relates, subject to meeting the requirements of Policy RH4; or
2. to reinstate a former dwelling house or as a one-for-one replacement of an existing permanent house; or
3. for a worker employed by a forestry or other rural industrial or business enterprise where it can be demonstrated that a worker living on site is essential to the running of the business, subject to meeting the requirements of Policy RH4; or
4. for the retirement succession (only) of a viable farm holding, forestry, or other rural industrial or business enterprise (information will be required to support this on both viability and succession planning); or
5. as a rural enabling development for the restoration and repair of a listed building in line with all requirements set out in Policy HE5
6. to reuse a redundant or unused building; or
7. for the subdivision of an existing residential dwelling; the scale of which is in keeping with the character and infrastructure provision in the area

Any replacement house should be located on the footprint of the original dwellinghouse or as close as possible thereto. A condition of any planning consent obtained will require the original dwelling, which was replaced, to be demolished once an 'Occupancy Certificate' has been obtained from Building Standards, should it not be on the footprint of the original dwellinghouse.

Policy RH4 provides further policy on new agricultural workers houses and housing for other rural enterprises.

The Council will be supportive of single or small scale residential development in the Rural Diversification Area, as shown on the Rural Area Map, where it can be demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the Council, that:

1. the houses are required for the categories of development detailed in Policy RH1 above; or
2. the proposed development would be consistent with the provisions of Policy RH3 below; or
3. the proposed development is for one house on a brownfield/derelict site7 which is 0.25ha or larger8, where a return to a natural state has not taken place due to constraints such as leftover buildings, ownership, contamination or remediation requirements; or
4. the proposed development would facilitate the establishment of a rural business, consistent with the provisions of Policy IND2. It will require to be demonstrated conclusively to the Council that the establishment of the rural business would not otherwise be financially viable and that financial assistance is not available from any other source. The Council will require to be satisfied that all profits arising from the enabling development will be channelled into the business development to be permitted and the rural business to which the proposed house relates, is itself, acceptable in terms of all other relevant LDP policies.

Rural residential development should be directed to rural groupings (clusters), as identified within Housing in the Countryside Supplementary Guidance.

The Council will be supportive of residential development, where it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Council that:

1. the proposed development complies with the provisions of all relevant LDP policies and with and associated supplementary guidance, and takes account of any relevant non-statutory guidance
2. the proposed dwelling can be sustainably accommodated within or immediately adjoining the identified cluster boundary – the cluster should not exceed a total of 15 residential units
3. the proposed development meets the specific requirements for the rural grouping within which it is sited, as set out within the Supplementary Guidance

Supplementary Guidance on Housing in the Countryside will be prepared as part of LDP2.

The Council will be supportive of new build houses for agricultural workers as well as rural enterprises (industrial, business and tourism), both within the Rural Protection Areas and the Rural Diversification Areas as shown on the Rural Area Map, where it can be demonstrated conclusively to the satisfaction of the Council.

Agricultural workers

1. the farm unit to which the proposal relates has been established for a period of more than two years and is proven to be economically viable
2. the house is required on a permanent basis for a farm worker employed directly and full time on the land to which the proposed house relates and whose presence is essential to the operation of the farm unit on a 24 hour a day basis
3. the land presented as justifying the proposed house is in the direct ownership of the applicant, not merely leased or rented to the applicant on a temporary or short-term basis
4. the house is located as close to the farm steading as can be accommodated unless otherwise justifiable
5. there are no alternative, existing accommodation facilities or other properties suitable for conversion to residential use, available within, or in close proximity to, the farm unit which could satisfy the needs of the worker for whom the house is required

The Council will not be supportive of proposals for additional houses for agricultural workers where it can be established that:

• it would result in the provision of three or more agricultural workers dwellings on any one particular farm unit, except in the most exceptional circumstances; or
• an existing farmhouse or other agricultural workers accommodation previously serving the agricultural unit concerned has been converted to alternative uses or has been sold off separately from the unit to persons not employed on the farm, within the preceding five year period

Proposals for new agricultural workers dwellings which do not meet the above criteria will not be considered acceptable to the Council.

Rural enterprises

1. the industrial, business or tourism development to which the proposed house relates, is itself, acceptable in terms of all other relevant LDP policies;
2. the requirement for a worker to live on site can be fully justified as essential to the economic operation of the industrial, business or tourism enterprise to which it relates; and
3. the industrial, business or tourism enterprise to which the proposed house relates has been established and operative within the site where the proposed house is to be located for a minimum period of two years and is proven to be economically viable.

Detailed supporting information for proposals

The Council will request applicants to justify their proposals through the submission of detailed supporting information, for example detailed business plans, in order to allow the Council to fully assess the applications concerned.

Proposals for new business and industry related housing developments in the countryside which do not meet the above criteria will not be considered acceptable to the Council.

In all cases, any application for a house for an agricultural worker or rural enterprise will require to be supported by a business plan and a statement from an appropriate and independent professional agronomist, fully justifying the proposal on operational grounds.

Note 1

The erection of a new house in the countryside to provide security against theft, vandalism or intrusion to an authorised or proposed rural business activity does not represent or constitute a site specific locational need for such a development.

Note 2

Any business which changes from mobile to static to justify a house associated with the business will not be considered to be the same business under the terms of this policy.

Note 3

The detail of the required content of a business plan is set out in the tourism section of this Plan.

Residential development in the countryside will not be considered acceptable to the Council where:

1. the development would constitute an inappropriate or unacceptable extension of development into the countryside from existing settlement boundaries; or
2. the development would, in itself, constitute or exacerbate an unacceptable sporadic development along public or private roads in rural locations; or
3. the development would contribute to the coalescence of neighbouring communities