Application to create business units on former Burley chicken farm

PLANS have been resubmitted to turn outbuildings into commercial units on a former chicken farm in Burley.

The application to the national park authority, which includes relocating a house on the site, said an industrial warehouse currently there “dominates” its surroundings and is in a “very poor state”.

Known as The Works, the unit was “at the end of its “natural life” and has no "architectural merit".

It could be refurbished without planning permission, said the plan submitted by Graham Hatch, but the capital investment would need to be “recouped by maximising the use of the building”.

It added this would increase in vehicles using the site which would “have a massively detrimental effect on the peaceful enjoyment of the neighbouring properties which without exception are domestic dwellings”.

A better proposition was to demolish the warehouse and replace it with timber clad workshops, it argued, which would be for small businesses with an emphasis on "environmental” firms.

They would have the same footprint of the existing warehouse and be powered by solar and wind energy. One of the units would have a holiday let in the roof space of the garage and workshop.

Another holiday let is to be created by converting stables on the farm.

The application also includes plans to demolish a house known as The Honey Pot which is “beyond viable repair” and replace it on a different part of the site with a three-bedroom, one-storey home.

The NPA is set to make a decision after the deadline for public comments on 17th March.