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Search the Public Notice PortalThe owner of a moorland stables complex has been given permission for a controversial staff caravan, despite a nearby resident branding it ‘totally and utterly out of character’.
Nearby resident Stephen Walmsley made the allegation as councillors debated a planning application for the mobile home at Ironwood Stables, Golden Soney, in Tockholes Road, Tockholes.
He was one of 16 local people to object to the proposal by Dr Rokhsareh Vahid.
Tockholes Parish Council also objected.
Despite this, Blackburn with Darwen Council's planning committee approved the proposal with five conditions, including that the caravan must only be used to house employees of the stables and for no other use.
Committee chair Cllr Dave Smith stood down from the committee while it debated the application on Thursday evening, as he knew Mr Walmsley as a resident of his Darwen West ward.
His deputy, Cllr Sabahat Imtiaz, took over for the item.
Borough planning manager Gavin Prescott told the committee the 16 public objections were on grounds including that there is no need for a caravan for security purposes; that thee proposals are not suitable in the Green Belt; that the caravan would look out of place; visual and noise impacts; loss of privacy; additional traffic; and that the proposals may set a precedent for similar forms of development.
Tockholes Parish Council objected, saying it was "incompatible" with the local character, a lack of operational justification, potential negative impact on equine welfare, privacy issues for neighbouring properties and the risk of setting a precedent for further inappropriate development on Green Belt land.
Mr Walmsley told the meeting: “It is totally and utterly out of character with that area of Tockholes.”
Mr Prescott told the committee: “The proposed development involves the siting of an ancillary residential caravan for occupation of an employee associated with Ironwood Stables.
“It would be sited on an existing area of hardstanding that has historically been used as a parking area.
“The proposed caravan would be occupied by the livery manager and is required for security reasons.
“The applicant has agreed to a condition limiting the permission to a two-berth caravan, with details of the caravan to be agreed once a suitable model has been identified for purchase.
“The siting of such a size of caravan with some additional screening would not cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt.”
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