Five-bedroom house approved for protected Wiltshire countryside

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 10 Oct, 06:16 · Archive

Wiltshire Council officers have recommended approval for a five-bedroom equestrian trainer's house in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape despite conservation objections.

Hadleigh Agriculture Ltd is seeking permission for an equestrian trainer's house on land southeast of Manton Park Farmhouse at Manton, near Marlborough. The five-bedroom, two-storey dwelling has been described by landscape experts as resembling a 'scaled-down Georgian mansion'. Wiltshire Council officers have recommended the scheme for approval when it goes before members of the Eastern Area Planning Committee on Thursday, October 15.

The recommendation is subject to a legal agreement permanently giving up existing permission for a trainer's house elsewhere on the estate. This replaces an alternative site for the building, reducing the overall impact across the agricultural holding.

The application has proved controversial because the site lies wholly within the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, a protected area. The North Wessex Downs National Landscape Partnership has objected to the proposal, describing it as a 'large five bed executive dwelling' whose design 'appears as a scaled down Georgian mansion'. The partnership argues the scale, massing and design are inappropriate and that there is a lack of a needs assessment.

CPRE Wiltshire has also called for refusal, arguing the development would be an 'unjustified, unsustainable intrusion into a protected landscape'. The conservation group says the applicant has failed to demonstrate an essential need for the house and points to the existing permission elsewhere on the estate.

How it is being reported

• ‘Mini mansion’ could be built in protected landscape despite oppositionA “scaled-down Georgian mansion” could be built in protected Wiltshire countryside despite objections from conservation campaigners.Gazette & Herald · 10 Oct, 05:00
• ‘Mini mansion’ could be built in protected landscape despite oppositionA “scaled-down Georgian mansion” could be built in protected Wiltshire countryside despite objections from conservation campaigners.Swindon Advertiser · 10 Oct, 05:00
• ‘Mini mansion’ could be built in protected landscape despite oppositionA “scaled-down Georgian mansion” could be built in protected Wiltshire countryside despite objections from conservation campaigners.Wiltshire Times · 10 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Hadleigh Agriculture Ltd · Wiltshire Council · Manton · Marlborough · North Wessex Downs National Landscape · CPRE Wiltshire · Manton Park Farmhouse

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