Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 1 November 2022 by S Ashworth BA (Hons) BPl MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 24th November 2022 Appeal Ref: APP/D0840/W/22/3292318 Higher Parsonage, Road from Lanvean to Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, Newquay, Cornwall TR8 4EZ • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr Paul West against the decision of Cornwall Council. • The application Ref PA21/06193, dated 14 June 2021, was refused by notice dated 22 October 2021. • The development proposed is demolition of stable to be replaced by new single unit holiday lodge accommodation. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Main Issue 2. The main issue in this case is whether the proposed development is in suitable location having particular regard to local and national policy and accessibility to local services and facilities. Reasons 3. Higher Parsonage is a detached residential property set with substantial grounds in an elevated position in the landscape.

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision The proposal seeks to demolish an L shaped stable block within the grounds and to construct a single storey, two-bedroomed lodge for use as holiday accommodation in its place. The site lies outside of a defined settlement and is within the countryside for planning purposes. 4. The Development Plan for the area comprises the Cornwall Local Plan Strategic Policies 2010-2030 adopted in 2016 (the Local Plan). The Local Plan sets out in Policy 1 a presumption in favour of sustainable development and in Policy 2 an overarching spatial strategy which seeks to provide a sustainable approach to accommodating growth. 5. Policy 3 sets out a hierarchical approach to the provision of new development and identifies settlements within which new housing and employment development will be permitted. Other than within those identified settlements new development will only be permitted in certain specified circumstances. The proposal does not meet any of the circumstances listed. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/D0840/W/22/3292318 6. I have considered the appellant’s argument that the proposal does not fall within the remit of Policy 3 as it is for holiday use. However, case law1 establishes that the distinctive characteristic of a dwellinghouse is its ability to afford to those who used it, the facilities required for day-to-day private domestic existence. It does not lose that characteristic if it is occupied for only part of the year, or at infrequent intervals, or by a series of different people. Consequently, a holiday cottage that meets this test will usually be treated as a dwellinghouse for the purposes of applying planning policies. 7. In this case the proposed lodge would be a building of permanent construction set out with living, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom facilities such that it is clearly designed and capable of providing for private day to day living. Accordingly, Policy 3, is a relevant policy in the determination of this case. 8. On the same basis, Policy 7 is also relevant.

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision That policy relates to the development of new homes in the countryside which, it states, will only be permitted where there are special circumstances including the replacement or subdivision of a dwelling and the re-use of a building, a matter to which I will turn later. There is no dispute that the proposal would not fall under any of the categories in Policy 7. 9. Policy 5 of the Local Plan relates specifically to business and tourism development and states that the provision of new tourism accommodation will be supported where it will be of an appropriate scale to its location and to its accessibility by a range of transport modes. 10. The site lies under 600m walking distance from the centre of St Mawgan, separated from it by a generally open landscape where built development is sporadic. The appeal site is accessed from St Mawgan, for the most part, by a minor single width road with a long uphill incline. The road, in common with other rural lanes, is unlit and bounded on both sides by high hedges. For the most part there are no pavements and verges are limited.

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Accordingly, whilst I acknowledge that the settlement is within a reasonable distance of the site, walking and cycling would be unattractive options for a large number of people, particularly in poor weather conditions. I am also mindful that the settlement contains limited facilities, and it seems to me likely that occupiers would need to travel further afield to access a greater range of services. 11. I have seen from the evidence that there is a bus service linking St Mawgan with larger settlements in the area. However, provision is limited and in any event the occupiers would be required to access the bus stops in St Mawgan before making the onward journey. For the above reasons this might in itself result in the use of a motor vehicle. I also noted the proximity to the site from Newquay airport. However, whilst the journey by road would not be lengthy, getting to and from the airport with luggage can only reasonably be achieved by motor vehicle and as such the proximity to the airport adds only limited weight. 12.

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Accordingly, taking all of this together, whilst the scale of the development is commensurate with its location, it is likely that occupants of the holiday accommodation would rely on motor vehicles to access services and facilities. As such, taking into account that Paragraph 105 of the National Planning Policy Framework acknowledges that opportunities to maximise sustainable transport 1 Gravesham BC v SSE and O’Brien [1983] JPL 306 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Accordingly, taking all of this together, whilst the scale of the development is commensurate with its location, it is likely that occupants of the holiday accommodation would rely on motor vehicles to access services and facilities. As such, taking into account that Paragraph 105 of the National Planning Policy Framework acknowledges that opportunities to maximise sustainable transport 1 Gravesham BC v SSE and O’Brien [1983] JPL 306 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/D0840/W/22/3292318 solutions will vary between rural and urban areas, the proposal would cause limited environmental harm as a result of increased car journeys. For these reasons, the proposal would fail to comply with Policy 5. 13. For the above reasons the proposal would not therefore be in a suitable location and would not represent the sustainable development the government seeks to achieve. Accordingly, it would conflict with policies 2,3 5 and 7 of the Local Plan as set out above. Other matters 14. One of the exceptions to the presumption against new housing in the open countryside set out in Policy 7 of the Local Plan, is the reuse of suitably constructed redundant, disused or historic buildings that are considered appropriate to retain and would lead to an enhancement to the immediate setting. The building to be converted should have an existing lawful use and be ten years older or greater. 15. Given that what is proposed is a new building rather than a reuse, the proposal does not fall within this exception.

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Nevertheless, the appellant argues that the existing stable could be converted to a dwelling and that this constitutes a ‘fallback’ position, although I note that planning permission for such development has not been sought or granted. However, there are no details of the structural condition of the stable building before me and I cannot be certain that it is suitably constructed such that it has the necessary elements, suitable foundations and structure for example, to enable the building to be satisfactorily converted. 16. Furthermore, there is no evidence before me that the building is redundant or disused. In that regard I note that the planning application form specifically indicates that the building is not vacant. Moreover, even if that were the case, without having sight of any plans, it seems to me that the proposal is likely to result in a building of a residential appearance with attendant associated domestic activity within the site. It would therefore have a greater impact on the rural character of the area than the present building which, given its appearance as a modest rural outbuilding, has a neutral effect. I am not therefore persuaded that it would represent an enhancement to its immediate setting.

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision 17. Accordingly taking all these matters together, I am unconvinced that an alternative proposal for the re-use of the building would meet the tests of Policy 7 or that it is little more than a theoretical possibility. On that basis the suggested fallback position carries limited weight in my considerations. 18. The proposal would provide some, limited economic benefits in terms of support for local business and tourist attractions. However, given the small scale of the development this matter also carries limited weight. 19. My attention has been drawn to a number of other planning application and appeal decisions that have some similarities with the proposal before me. However, each of these cases differ from the appeal proposal in various ways and as such the policy conclusions also differ. Case a)2 for example relates to the conversion of an annex and was found to lie within a settlement with 2 PA18/01972 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/D0840/W/22/3292318 access to bus and train links. Case b)3 relates to the provision of 2 new dwellings again within a settlement; case c) 4 concerns a change of use of a rural building and case d)5 the subdivision of an existing dwelling, compliant with housing policies. None of these cases was for tourist accommodation and did not therefore fall to be determined under Policy 5. Case e)6 the provision of 6 bell tents was found to be connected to the local footpath and cycle networks. Whilst I have noted comments on each of these cases relating to accessibility to local services, it is unclear whether the distance, terrain and road conditions in those case reflect those before me. Moreover, I can only determine the appeal on the site circumstances of this case. Conclusion 20. As set out above, the proposal would result in the creation of a new dwelling in an unsustainable location in the open countryside outside of a settlement. Accordingly, it would be contrary to local and national policy. The conflict with those policies carries substantial weight. 21.

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — Appeal Decision Planning law requires that applications for planning permission be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 22. In this case, the benefits of the proposal carry only limited weight. Consequently, the considerations put forward in support of this proposal do not indicate that planning permission should be allowed. On that basis, taking into account all other matters raised, the appeal is dismissed.

Existing Stable at Higher Parsonage, Road From Lanvean To Trevenna Cross, St Mawgan, TR8 4EZ — Cornwall Council — S Ashworth INSPECTOR 3 APP/D0840/W/19/3237217 4 APP/D0840/W/20/3246958 5 APP/D0840/W/21/3278242 6 APP/D0840/W/18/3218892 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4