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Search the Public Notice PortalA couple have submitted retrospective plans to keep a number of developments at a Ribble Valley farm, including a wedding venue and a spa.
The plans relate to developments at Oak Bank Farm in Ribchester, including a wedding and events venue, a swimming pool and spa complex, three timber holiday cottages, and a wedding ceremony building, as well as parking areas.
A planning statement submitted to Ribble Valley Council said the applicants run a "very successful tourism business" trading as Ribble Valley Holiday Homes, which has been open since 2011.
Prior to developing a wedding venue at the site, the applicants provided accommodation for people attending weddings in the area, and guests commented it would be good to have a venue at the farm to avoid travelling between the accommodation and the venue.
Following the approval of an application in March 2022, the applicants made the decision to use part of the approved building as a swimming pool and spa facility, and to create a separate wedding ceremony building.
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This was to provide "additional facilities for holidaymakers staying in the holiday cottages and for users of the wedding venue."
The statement said: "By this time, they [the applicants] had already commenced development and given the increasingly competitive market with the development of other holiday cottages within a 1km radius of the site, they felt it was crucial to proceed without delay to ensure business continuation.
"Since the changes would not result in any adverse impact in terms of ecology, landscape, or highways, and the use was linked to the existing and approved use of the site, in order not to delay development, they proceeded with a development that was not entirely in accordance with the planning permission, in order to avoid delays."
The development referenced in the application has taken place and is said to be of a "high quality", and the general appearance of the development "is what would be expected had the development been carried out in accordance with the permission granted."
The spa and swimming pool are mainly used by guests at the wedding venue and holiday cottages, with the exception of an arrangement with Ribble Valley Swim School for teaching local children "the essential life-saving skill of swimming."
To view the plans in full, visit the council's planning website.
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