Plans to turn former farm buildings into holiday lets in Worksop have been approved after the applicant appealed the council’s decision to refuse them.
Bassetlaw District Council’s planning committee previously refused the plans to transform the grade two listed building into four holiday homes at North House Farm in Carlton in Lindrick, Worksop.
The plans were originally turned down in September 2021 after officers said the stone track access to the site was “extremely sub-standard”.
But now, the inspector appointed by the secretary of state, Darren Hendley, has decided that the application should be approved, after the applicant appealed the decision.
Although the inspector agreed that the access could cause “a detrimental effect on highway safety”, he found that this was outweighed by bringing a heritage site back into use.
Applicant Jane Beilby said the aim of the plans was to “breathe new life into the last dilapidated farm building on-site”.
Ms Beilby added that after the pandemic, tourism in Nottinghamshire is growing and these plans would “tap into that market”.
The plans would cost around £200,000 to carry out, the applicant said.
One resident said they supported the plans to give the disused buildings a new lease of life, but they added that they had concerns about the highways issues.
Referencing the access concerns, council officers said in 2021: “Given the sub-standard nature of the access arrangements even after improvement, and the existing and consented uses, the site access arrangements are not considered appropriate to serve further development that would generate additional traffic.”
The applicant said in the planning documents: “The proposals will create a sustainable use for the historic listed buildings, which will enable the buildings to have a more secure long term future.
“We have endeavoured to retain as many of the features of historical significance as possible. This allows us to strike a balance between providing much-needed residential accommodation whilst retaining features relating to the building’s original agricultural purpose.”
The appeal inspector wrote that the plans would “make a positive contribution to the conservation of a heritage asset”.
He wrote: “Accordingly, the harm that would arise as regards highway safety would be outweighed by bringing a designated heritage asset back into use.”
