| 1. | The site of the proposal, which is outside any area where the Local Planning Authority would normally permit residential development, lies within the zones 'Landscape Important to the Coastal Scene' and 'Landscape Important to the Setting of Settlements' in the adopted Great Yarmouth Borough-Wide Local Plan. Paragraph 2.3.12 of the Local Plan - 'Dwellings in the Countryside' - states that special justification will be required for all housing, including mobile homes, outside development limits. It will normally be expected that most agricultural and forestry workers will be able to live in nearby towns and villages rather than for them to live on the site. The onus will be on the applicant to justify an exception to this policy.
Despite the evidence submitted in support of the application, the Local Planning Authority is not convinced that there is an essential 'functional need' for one or more workers to live on the site rather than in a nearby village or settlement, e.g. Ormesby St Margaret or Scratby, particularly in view of the imprecise scale and nature of the proposed enterprise. In any event, either of these locations would, it is felt, provide a suitably convenient place of residence to enable such a worker to carry out the level of supervision mentioned in the supporting evidence mentioned above. Furthermore, the Local Planning Authority is not persuaded that the security of equipment etc can only be assured by a worker residing on the premises.
It is considered, therefore, that the proposal is contrary to Policy HOU10 of the adopted Great Yarmouth Borough-Wide Local Plan (relating to new dwellings in the countryside) and Government policy, as set out in 'Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable Development in RUral Areas' (PPS7). It is also considered that, in terms of its impact on the landscape, the proposal is contrary to Policies NNV3 and NNV5 of the Local Plan as, with particular regard to the former, the site is located in an open flat area of land. |
