Agenda item

To consider an application for conversion of existing building to chalet, erection of 3 new chalets, with associated construction of roads, creation of pond, installation of drainage and landscape planting at land at Fron Haul, Llanfwrog, Ruthin (copy attached).

An application was submitted for conversion of existing building to chalet, erection of 3 new chalets, with associated construction of roads, creation of pond, installation of drainage and landscape planting at land at Fron Haul, Llanfwrog, Ruthin.  The item had been deferred by the committee in September pending the receipt of additional information to clarify the case for the development.

Public Speaker –

Mr. R. Davies (agent) (For) – referred to the additional information requested, justification statement, detailed accounts and viability statement.  Argued the application complied with Policy PSE5 which allowed for tourism development outside development boundaries subject to detailed criteria, highlighting a clear shortage of holiday accommodation supply in the area and strong market demand.

General Debate – Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts (Local Member) spoke in support of the application and how he believed the policy tests had been met.  He considered the design to be in keeping with the character of the area, highlighting a number of properties/facilities in the vicinity to illustrate this point; referred to the study of hotel demand commissioned by Denbighshire which concluded a clear demand for hotel accommodation and reported upon his efforts to arrange group accommodation via Booking.com to demonstrate the lack of availability in Ruthin, and he also highlighted the reduction in visitor accommodation over recent times; the lack of land allocated for business use in Ruthin was also highlighted as a factor to consider.  Councillor Hilditch-Roberts advised that the applicant had a proven record in the town, the proposal would meet a need and be of economic benefit to Ruthin and tourism in Denbighshire, and urged members to grant the application.

Officers responded to the issues raised as follows –

·         reiterated that it was a greenfield site in open countryside some 2km away from the town centre in Ruthin where the applicant’s other businesses were located and there was no planning mechanism to tie the development to the existing pub business

·         clarified on the slideshow of photographs provided the building proposed to be converted which was in officers’ view a new build given that only one partial elevation was being retained – the farmhouse on the opposite side of the track had been granted as a replacement dwelling and had been demolished and was a completely separate scheme

·         the Denbighshire Study of Hotel Demand & Potential 2018 had considered hotel accommodation and the application referred to a self-contained holiday let.  A separate assessment had been carried out which identified a general shortfall of all forms of visitor accommodation county wide but it was not specific to Ruthin

·         the application had been referred to as holiday accommodation and chalets/cabins but they were essentially very large two story properties that well exceeded space standards for four bedroom units.  Development in open countryside was strictly controlled and required overriding justification which officers did not consider had been made in this case

·         it was considered that no efforts had been made to find any suitable available buildings or land within 2km of the existing businesses and that the site had been selected on the basis that it was in the applicant’s ownership.

There was some further debate as to the relevance of the Denbighshire Study of Hotel Demand & Potential to the planning application and what weight to attach to it given that it related solely to hotel accommodation albeit suggesting some diversification of visitor accommodation within a particular context.  However it was suggested that there was a general shortfall in visitor accommodation in the county.

Councillor Mark Young reported that tourism and visitor numbers to the county continued to grow and he was keen to see investment in this area and had been reassured that conditions could be imposed to restrict the proposed dwellings for holiday use only.  Councillor Emrys Wynne added his support to the application given that it was a local development by a local business which would improve the economy and provide a high standard of holiday accommodation that would enhance the surrounding area.  He concurred with the views of fellow Local Member Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts and elaborated upon how he considered the relevant policy tests had been met which could be included in the final reasons for the decision if the application was granted.  He also highlighted that there had been no representations raising concerns and believed there was local support for such a development.  If members were minded to grant the application he referred to a number of conditions to be imposed in order to address issues raised by Natural Resources Wales regarding flood risk and the need for an ecological assessment, and in terms of appropriate screening and protection of the footpath amongst others.  Officers advised that if members wished to move against officer recommendation the usual practice was to agree a set of conditions with the Local Member to apply to the consent, but there was also the option of bringing the conditions back to the committee for approval.

Proposal – Councillor Mark Young proposed, seconded by Councillor Emrys Wynne, that the application be granted on the grounds that conversion of the building into a holiday unit met Policy PSE4 in relation to the conversion of rural buildings, and that tests in relation to Policy PSE5 had effectively been met in that the development was considered appropriate in scale and design to its location; evidence demonstrated that there were no other buildings in the locality suitable for conversion for that use, and a viable business case had been demonstrated.

VOTE:

GRANT – 9

REFUSE – 4

ABSTAIN – 0

RESOLVED that permission be GRANTED, contrary to officer recommendations, on the grounds that the application complied with the criteria of Policy PSE4 and that the tests in relation to Policy PSE5 had effectively been met.