New fruit and veg farms approved near Newtown

Six jobs could be created after plans to transform land near Newtown into three farm enterprises were given the go-ahead.

Earlier this year, Future Farms Steering Group lodged a planning application with Powys County Council to build three temporary rural enterprise buildings on land north of Wern Lane, near the village of Sarn.

The temporary homes would be there for five years, and the proposal includes building an agricultural packing and machinery shed, alterations to existing access, and associated work.

All the buildings would be built in the south-eastern corner of the farm near the existing house known as Wern Cottage.

The 38-acre site is council-owned land, and the project is funded by the Welsh Government and UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

During the consultation process, the application received eight public representations, which included four letters of objection, three of support and one with ‘neutral’ comments.

The objections included concerns that the scheme would be “sporadic development” in the open countryside, that there was a lack of information on the crops to be grown there, that there would be more traffic and that there is also “no need” to live on site.

Kerry Community Council had also objected to the proposal.

Support for the application included comments on the need to increase horticulture in Wales, the economic benefits and job creation aspect of the plans and the need to increase food security.

Senior planning officer Gemma Bufton said: “Information has been provided with the application which lists several scenarios whereby a worker may be required on site and readily available, these include equipment failure, crop quality management due to weather/frost and packaging timeframes.

“A business plan for each individual holding has been submitted in support of the application.”

While the business case is “indicative” at this stage, Mrs Bufton said that it had allowed planning officers to consider what could be achieved at the site.

While objectors had pointed out that Welsh Government has set out that temporary dwellings should “only” be allowed for 28 days, Mrs Bufton explained that there is enough flexibility in the policy to allow an exception to be made to allow temporary buildings at the site for a longer period.

Mrs Bufton said: “When reviewing the data before us and guidance it is considered that a temporary consent for five years is justified in this instance.”

Mrs Bufton went on to approve the application with a number of conditions to be included in the planning permission.

Project managers Duncan Fisher and Sue Holbrook said: “The three farms will produce a variety of fresh produce, using ecologically sustainable approaches.

“Each will have a small, modern, well-insulated home and workplace facilities grouped together.

“These new farms are a response to new and growing markets for fresh produce.

“Bwyd Powys Food, a wide partnership of local food and farming organisations, is building food loops that connect farms with each other and with multiple sales outlets across a wider region.

“This opens up wider opportunities for each farm to sell their own produce supplemented from other farms.

They added that the small farms will provide a new pathway for entrants to farming.

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service