Family farm diversification – South Snowdonia

The brief

The Jones’ run a friendly family farm and are a significant part of the local community and farming network. Their young children attend the local school, and they are involved in a variety of local activities.  The family decided that diversification into glamping pods would help with the farm’s profitability and viability. They wanted help with an application to the local planning authority ( Eryri National Park Authority).  The preparation of the full application was informed by the submission of a pre-application enquiry which confirmed the following as list of required items;

• Site plans
• Elevations and layout of the accommodation
• Ecological survey – Preliminary Ecological Assessment
• Tree survey
• Visual impact assessment
• Drainage assessment (for sites requiring new septic tank installations)
• Farm business plan

The application was also using the 2019 supplementary planning guidance on Visitor Accommodation published by Eryri National Park Authority. The document is intended to give applicants and planning officers additional guidance on national policy to better inform decision making on the erection of structures for tourism purposes.

Key objective and constraints

The key objective was to achieve planning permission, and despite the published supplementary planning guidance being supportive, the challenge of fulfilling the detailed requirements of the guidance was a constraint. The client was looking to invest in the physical infrastructure so keeping professional costs as low as possible was also an objective. Obtaining planning permission within Eryri National Park Authority is often challenging and often requires a significant amount of reports to be produced by qualified experts.

Actions and outcome

We worked with the client and other consultants (ecologist, drainage engineer) to prepare the required paperwork.

We worked with our client to have the application called in to the planning committee. Planning policy and guidance is subject to interpretation and should consider the circumstances of individual farms to be considered and reviewed, weighing up different factors to reach an informed decision. If a planning officer cannot recommend the application for approval, then the input of a planning committee or, sometimes, the planning inspectorate is necessary.

Following the presentation by the client to committee, they were successful with the application for the installation of glamping units on their farm in South Snowdonia. They were tenacious and determined in pursuing a successful consent, knowing that, from a business perspective, it was vital for future proofing the farms income stream.