Growers get go ahead for polytunnels

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Powys County Council planners have approved plans for five polytunnels to grow fruit and vegetables near Newtown.

The application was lodged with Powys County Council in June by Lucie Taylor of Social Farms and Gardens for a county farm site on land north of Wern Lane, near Sarn.

The application has been granted two weeks ahead of the August 18 decision deadline date.

Social Farms and Gardens had said that the first growing season had been “delayed.”

This was because earlier this year county planners told the applicants that a formal planning application was needed for the tunnels and that it could not be built using permitted development rights.

Social Farms and Gardens said: “The situation has now become urgent as the growers need to make their businesses viable within five years of the rural enterprise dwelling permission date.”

A problem with the scheme is that part of the site is in a flood zone.

This is because the river Caebitra flows in a westerly direction around 150 metres from the site.

The Caebitra joins the river Camlad just under four miles further to the north east of the site near Churchstoke.

A flood consequence assessment (FCA) had been included in the application and said that in terms of flood risk, the site is “compliant with” the planning policy.

Planning officer Natalie Hinds said: said that Welsh Government environment body, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) had looked at the flood risk.

Ms Hinds said: “NRW have considered the development and given the less vulnerable nature of the proposal as agricultural use, it is considered to be acceptable, subject to the applicant being aware of the flood risk to the site.

“Given the lightweight nature of the structures, these are considered unlikely to result in any significantly increased flood risk to the surrounding area.

 “It is considered that the proposed development would not unacceptably adversely affect the wider landscape, which forms part of the Vale of Montgomery registered historic landscape.

“Given these considerations, the proposed development does fundamentally comply with relevant planning policy.

“The recommendation is one of conditional consent.

In October last year, plans to transform the land into three farm enterprises, which could create six jobs, was given the go-ahead.

This included allowing three temporary rural enterprise buildings to be built there.

The temporary homes would be there for a five-year period and the proposal included building an agricultural packing and machinery shed, alterations to existing access and associated works.

The 36-acre site is council-owned land, and the project is funded by the Welsh Government and UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

It is a pilot scheme to find out if land in Powys can be used to grow fruit and vegetables on a commercial scale.

Produce from the farms is expected to supply local markets, schools in the area and possibly in future nearby cities.