Cornwall planning: Farming family mum's emotional plea to keep living on their land
"Agriculture is going through a massive period of change at the moment, confidence is low, youngsters are walking away from the sector. We here have a young family who are desperate to make a go of things." Those were the words of a Cornwall councillor after a plea by a farming family to create a temporary home on their land in order to safeguard the future of their business was recommended for refusal.
Joe and Danielle Smith, of West Carne, Altarnun, near Bodmin Moor, had applied for planning permission to site a caravan on their land to allow them to carry on living and working on the farm, which goes back generations. An emotional Mrs Smith told a meeting of Cornwall Council's east area planning committee today (Monday, November 25): "Farming is everything to us and is our whole way of life."
She said that if the application was refused their only alternative would be to sell their land, which would be "devastating".
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The proposal for a three-year permission for a three-bed caravan to house the couple and their daughter was recommended for refusal by a planning officer because the introduction of the caravan would impact Bodmin Moor National Landscape (formally Bodmin Moor AONB - area of outstanding natural beauty).
The meeting in Bodmin heard that the County Land Agent objected to the application, arguing that the plan did not provide "sufficient functional or financial justification for a second dwelling on the holding". The agent believed the presence of a house at West Carne, Higher Popplestones Park, could be used by the family rather than a caravan.
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However, Mrs Smith told the committee that her family couldn't live in that property as it has been rented to the same tenants for the past ten years and was now for sale in order to provide funds to ensure the farm's survival. She said: "Joe has worked on this land his whole life as has his father and several generations before them. We never had any intention to move from there."
However, following a protracted probate following her father-in-law's death in 2019, there had been a transfer of land which meant they lost the site which housed their previous dwelling. "We've since been living separately as a family for the last 18 months at some distance away from our farm, and this is having a significant impact on our family and working life," Mrs Smith told councillors.
"If the planning permission is refused there's no alternative to us as a family other than to move away from the area. The business and the welfare of our animals would suffer considerably as a result." She added there are no available homes they can afford in the area.
Her voice cracking with emotion, Mrs Smith said: "Farming is everything to us and is our whole way of life. We are deeply passionate about our animals and their welfare, and our existing and future environmental schemes as stewards of the land. What we are asking for is enough time living on our farm to build up the livestock and profitability to a level that the council has agreed is sustainable in the long term, and which our business plan shows is achievable."
They farm 147 acres and are expecting to lamb 250 ewes and calve 50 cows and heifers next year. After three years, if the farm proved to be profitable, they would ask for their home to be a permanent permission.
The matter was brought to the committee by local member Councillor Adrian Parsons, himself a farmer, due to what he said was the essential need of the applicants to be present on their farm holding. The meeting heard that Altarnun Parish Council has supported the application unanimously.
Cllr Parsons said: "As you've heard, it's been a difficult time for them and we are trying to secure a positive outcome so they can move forward. I know only too well myself that a farmer is only a farmer if he has his land and stock to farm. For many, to lose this is something which is incomprehensible. Please take my word that the bungalow in question does have to be sold."
He said other areas of the farm were unsuitable for the caravan as they are susceptible to flooding but the application field is dry with access to nearby services. "The land in that field is Grade 4 so there wouldn't be loss of best and most versatile land. It's essential for them to be living on site to minimise losses and provide the best attention to welfare as is required during peak times throughout the farming calendar," added Cllr Parsons.
He believed no one would notice the home in the surrounding area and they should be allowed to continue living on land their family has worked on for generations. The councillor pointed out that in May 2023, Cornwall Council passed a landmark motion to support the Duchy's farmers to enhance "our magnificent countryside".
Cllr John Fitter had concerns: "What worries me is that in three years' time if they have made a financial success of the business, they will probably be able to make an application to build a house on the site because the principle of development has been established with the caravan."
Cllr Parsons responded: "The whole farm is within the AONB. Many farms are within the AONB. They can't help the situation they're in. Inevitably, to serve their farm they need a house that's in the AONB, so they've specifically gone for a site that will serve the family and the farm well."
During debate, Cllr Barry Jordan said: "There always has to be an exception to the rule. I one hundred per cent support this as a temporary permission to get this young family to prove that they can do the job and make the farm pay - there's enough problems now with what's going on in farming."
Cllr Andrew Long - who proposed approval - believed that the benefit of local farmers providing food for the community outweighed the planning officer's recommendation, especially as it's a temporary measure. The application was approved by eight votes to two.