Solihull farm wants to install a teepee tent despite 17 objections

A farm supporting adults with learning disabilities has applied to Solihull planners to keep a teepee tent used for weddings and other activities. Newlands Bishop Farm, based in the village of Catherine-de-Barnes, offers work activities, training and development.

Among the activities offered at the Berry Hall Lane-based site are gardening, woodwork, and fruit and vegetable production. In May applicant Daniel Adams applied for permission to retain the “triple combined” tepee tent near the main building complex on the site.

A statement written by the agent Donna Savage, which was submitted to the authority, said: “The tepee is used for various activities during the week and is used for weddings and other functions during the summer months as part of the small business and work scheme element. The tepee enables the farm to offer a wider variety of activities to project workers including recreation and sporting activities that are often difficult for the project workers to access.

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“In addition to sports the tepee is typically used for other activities such as bushcraft, woodland craft and yoga, but in short is a large, dry multi-functional space that can be used in all weather.” The application is now set to go before Solihull Council s next planning committee meeting.

Officers wrote in a report, prepared for members, that it had been referred to the committee as the proposal had "given rise to substantial weight of public concern”. The report said 17 objections were raised with concerns including the teepee would be harmful to character and appearance, and it would cause noise, disturbance, unsociable behaviour and vandalism.

But officers recommended it be approved for a temporary period of time. They said any noise from the site would be acceptable, and the tepee “would be an ideal base for a variety of activities”.

As previously reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the farm received permission for a two-storey building featuring training rooms last year. In that application the farm's owners, the Family Care Trust, said: “To continue supporting people with disabilities in Solihull it is crucial we continue developing all our services ensuring we make a healthy net profit.

“We need to explore opportunities that help increase income streams.”