Historic barn’s residential plans rejected amid policy concerns

Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to turn a historic barn into a home have been rejected by planning committee, despite calls to postpone a decision to look at new information.

At a meeting of Bannau Brycheiniog authority’s Planning committee on Tuesday, March 24, members received an application for the: “Reinstatement of listed barn, lost in a fire with incorporation of existing annexe building to form new dwelling with attached barn storage.”

Cantref House is Grade II listed three-storey house with a late Georgian façade which was built as the vicarage to St Mary’s Church around 1790.

The site is near Llanfrynach to the south of Brecon and barn is at the back of Cantref House, separated by a yard and garden and is listed due to its functional relationship to the house.

In 2020 the barn was nearly destroyed in a fire with only the walls left standing.

Full and listed building planning applications to rebuild the barn have already been approved by planners.

Applicants Rob and Sara Jenkins who run a glamping site nearby applied to remove a condition from these permissions which means that the barn can only be used as an “ancillary” to Cantref House.

The couple want to connect the barn to an existing annexe building to form one dwelling..

The condition hinders financing the project as mortgage companies require it to be an “open market dwelling” members were told.

Planning officer Lisa Hughes said that “late correspondence” received from the couple’s planning agent after she had finished her report, said that they are willing to enter a (section) s106 agreement to provide an affordable housing contribution.

But they want it to be payable if they sell the barn rather than on completion or when they occupy it following the building work.

Ms Hughes said: “However the principle of creating an open market dwelling in the open countryside is contrary to policy.”

She recommended that the members refuse the application.

‘Losing our home’

Applicant Sara Jenkins spoke at the meeting and told the committee that her husband’s family had lived at Cantref House for three generations.

Mrs Jenkins said “We are fully committed to this location and if we cannot resolve this, we really do face losing our home, business and future here.

“Permission has already been granted to reinstate the barn and extend the existing annexe where we live.

“The issue before you is not the principle of development, but how the building is classified.

“The current restriction means we cannot finance and complete the build in the face of spiralling costs, without that change the development cannot progress.

“It’s not about introducing a new development in the countryside but enabling an already approved scheme to be delivered in practice.”

She understood the planning policy but believed this was an “exceptional case” with a “unique set of circumstances.”

Defer decision 

Cllr Edwin Roderick (Powys) said: “There’s questions arising here, we should defer until we have all the necessary answers that we are looking for.”

But committee chairman and government appointed member Steve Reyner was reluctant to do this as it would mean: “dragging out the application on and on.”

Members were told that if they deferred the application, it could take two further committee meetings to fully resolve the issues around the applicaton.

Welsh Government appointed independent member, Julian Stedman said: “Unfortunately we need to look at the application in cold blood and on its own merits.

“There’s a matter of principle here that even with the s106 it would be very difficult to overcome and my view is that the officers have made a recommendation that we should stand by.”

He pointed out that the couple could appeal against their decision to Welsh Government planning inspectors at PEDW (Planning and Environment Decsision Wales)

“If we lost the appeal so be it,” said Mr Stedman.