Plans lodged to amend farm conversion scheme

Plans have been submitted to reduce the number of homes as part of a proposed conversion of a north Northumberland farm steading.
Brockdam Farm, on the Ellingham Estate. Picture from GoogleBrockdam Farm, on the Ellingham Estate. Picture from Google
Brockdam Farm, on the Ellingham Estate. Picture from Google

In an unusual step, a bid has been lodged to substitute the existing planning permission for nine homes at Brockdam Farm, on the Ellingham Estate, with approval for just three.

A planning statement, submitted by George F White on behalf of the Trustees of Lady B Gadsden, explains: ‘The majority of the traditional farm buildings are unsuited to modern agricultural practices; as such planning consent was sought in 2004 to convert the buildings to nine small residential units looking towards the tourism market.

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‘However, the Estate has been unable to secure any viable developer interest in the site and in the intervening period the buildings have started to deteriorate. In places, small sections of the roof has been removed in the interests of safety.’

But despite the fall-back position of nine properties, a pre-application inquiry resulted in Northumberland County Council saying that the proposals were ‘unlikely to be looked upon favourably’ because of the ‘demolition and rebuild in the open countryside’.

The statement goes on to point out that since this advice, the council’s core strategy has been withdrawn and ‘recent appeal decisions suggest that the interpretation of the development proposal could now be considered more favourably in the current planning climate’.

The application seeks to extend the consented one-bedroom studio unit of 75m² to form a three-bedroom, single-storey dwelling of 250m².

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The pair of consented two-bedroom homes of approximately 325m² would be replaced by a single four-bedroom, one-and-a-half-storey house of 300m².

The hay barn would become a four-bedroom, single-storey property and the remaining units would be rescinded.

Ben O'Connell, Local Democracy Reporting Service