A request by the Duchy of Cornwall Estate to change the use of a farm building at Corston to a house has been refused by Bath & North East Somerset Council.
The entrance to the site on Ashton Hill
A prior approval request to convert the steel, concrete and timber building at Ashton Hill was submitted to the local authority by the Duchy in June.
The planning application said there is an existing access with good visibility in either direction and the lane is considered to be “lightly trafficked”.
It stated there would be minimal noise impacts arising from the conversion and no issues which would make it “impractical or undesirable”.
The external appearance of the building would have remained largely unchanged and a significant proportion of the existing materials would be retained in the conversion.
Corston Parish Council said although supportive of the need to provide more housing in the countryside, it had concerns about the proposed conversion, saying further detailed information of the building work needed to construct a suitable house to modern standards should be made available.
The parish council also said the Duchy’s statement that the lane is “lightly trafficked” is “misleading”.
It said: “Ashton Hill, together with Gypsy Lane, is a well-used cut-through between the B3116 and the A39; at peak times this country lane becomes a very busy rat-run of speeding vehicles.
“In addition to many near misses, the inherent dangers of this country lane, with its blind bends and narrow roadway, was clearly demonstrated when in 2018 a vehicle lost control, collided with a parked car, and demolished the boundary wall with the A39.”
Announcing their decision, B&NES Council planning officers said they did not have any road safety concerns but were concerned that the structural survey of the building was based on “visual assessment”.
They said: “The report did not consider the capability of conversion to the scheme proposed and a construction method statement has not been provided in this regard.
“It is therefore considered that insufficient details and information have been provided to demonstrate the building is capable of conversion without substantial re/building/reconstruction.”
The planning officers also said that as the proposed house adjoins a farmyard, with other large sheds nearby, the agricultural activities would mean significant noise and disturbance for future occupiers of the property.
It was considered that a house on the site would jeopardise the agricultural operation.
