BM Rural Outlook - Flipbook - Page 27
24 | Rural Outlook Issue 21
Planning & Development | 25
Shared skill set
delivers results
Batcheller Monkhouse’s multi-disciplinary planning
team brings together a range of specialists who work
together to provide clients with a comprehensive
package of advice.
From promoting new strategic sites
through the Local Plan process to
advising on conversion and diversification
schemes, and dealing with the detail
of listed building consent applications,
the team has a shared skill set that can
answer most planning-based questions.
The team can also carry out
Environmental Impact Assessments
(EIA), a specialist area of planning work
that is increasingly in demand.
While barn conversions and farm-based
diversification projects are a valued part
of the mix, the team also provides advice
on projects such as schools, mixed-use
developments, town centre projects and
major urban extensions.
The firm’s development team act on
behalf of landowners to package up sites
with strong planning potential and find
the appropriate developer or promoter
to take them forward.
CASE STUDY
Park Farm, Hellingly – an urban extension
The comprehensive planning skill set on offer from Batcheller Monkhouse was
highlighted by its support for a landowner looking to develop a large greenfield
site. Both the planning and development teams were involved to ensure the
scheme came to fruition, providing around 370 homes, and with additional land
now being brought forward, which in total will provide around 800 units.
The planning team helped obtain the outline consent for 370 homes in phase
one before the development team came back on board to sell the land.
CASE STUDY
Heartenoaks Meadows,
Hawkhurst – edge of
settlement
As well as being a greenfield site,
Heartenoaks Meadow is in an Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty,
which added to the challenge
around obtaining planning
permission, although it did adjoin
the settlement boundary and was
well connected to village services.
Batcheller Monkhouse
produced a planning statement
that included a clear and
persuasive ‘exceptional
circumstances case’ and created
a sensitive, low density, edge
of village scheme with clear
environmental benefits.
The scheme put to planners
was for 28 very attractive
private family homes, 10 of
which met affordable homes
criteria, together with a large
area of amenity space, within
walking distance of the high
street in Hawkhurst.
CASE STUDY
Warnham Park, West Sussex – new (old) barn
The owner of Warnham Park, a stunning and historic deer park in the
countryside, asked Batcheller Monkhouse to help with an ambitious and
potentially controversial plan to move and renovate a 350 year old Sussex barn.
The timber building, situated a mile away from its proposed new home, was still
essentially sound but in poor repair.
Moving it out of its historic context was a planning challenge, as was adding
a ‘new’ building to an historic and nationally important parkland setting.
Batcheller Monkhouse worked with the planning authorities to persuade
them of the overall benefits of the scheme.
CASE STUDY
Goldenlands Farm, Dorking – microbrewery diversification
Another green belt application that needed careful planning saw the conversion
of a redundant barn into a micro-brewery, shop and tasting bar for the Trailhead
Brew Company.
The scheme was the latest stage in a wider farm diversification project that has
created an exciting and profitable new enterprise using redundant buildings.
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
Lyde Green Farm, Bristol
– environmental impact
assessment
Clare Bartlett and Kirsty Castle
of Batcheller Monkhouse are
qualified to deliver Environmental
Impact Assessments (EIA) aimed
at providing the complex socioeconomic and land use
assessments.
At Lyde Green Farm, Clare Bartlett
produced the EIA that helped win
consent for 398 dwellings.
CASE STUDY
Crays Lane, Thakeham –
a better alternative
Clarendon Drive, Rochester –
meet the neighbours
Planning restrictions in the South Downs National Park are understandably tight, and when a client trying to establish a
new forestry business unintentionally fell foul of the rules, he turned to Batcheller Monkhouse to help untangle the red tape.
This scheme saw Batcheller Monkhouse’s experience
and negotiation skills used to persuade the planning
authority to allow three modern, energy efficient and
well-designed homes in place of a less workable
farm building conversion.
Obtaining planning permission for a new scheme
close to existing homes is always a challenge, but
Batcheller Monkhouse’s plans for Clarendon Drive
succeeded in winning the support of Medway
Council’s planning committee.
With a felling licence in place the operator wanted to lay a track to provide access for his forestry vehicles and erect
a building for drying timber. When he tried to make his own applications, the ensuing red tape caused him to turn to
Batcheller Monkhouse for help and to avoid an impending enforcement action.
This approach makes projects more profitable
as new build homes are zero-rated for VAT,
unlike conversion schemes.
The former allotment site earmarked for six dwellings
was in the heart of the urban area and was carefully
designed with its near neighbours in mind.
CASE STUDY
Jays Farm, Lurgashall – enforcement appeal