Latest Developments
A new page will be published shortly with the latest updates for 2009, so call back and in the meantime, read about the history of this site below...
click here to read our previous articles about this site
April 2008 - A planning application has now been submitted for the Farm shop as it stands. This is still while there is an appeal outstanding! The current operation is far fetched from the original application in 2002, which was an agricultural store for PYO fruit grown locally! The WBC Planning have to deal with this submission as a fresh application...
DESPITE the fact an enforcement notice has been served against it...
DESPITE the fact the applicant failed to build in accordance with the conditions laid down by the planning officers and...
DESPITE the fact there is an outstanding appeal hearing!
You can read the below and other articles if you do not yet know the full history, but we would implore you to make an individual objection. It's easy enough to do...
Click here to view the planning application and make any comment
Click here to go straight to the comments page in respect of this application
Click here to view the original application in 2002.
Please take action NOW! the closure date for comments is
Thursday 17th April 2008
March 2008 - as you will be aware from reading our previous articles, this location has caused much of a stir over the last 12 - 18 months. It would appear, despite enforcement action and costly appeals, the matter has not gone away - nor will we!
Before & After Ariel photographs of the site
If you have to build a small extension on the side of your house, then you know, you will have to seek planning permission - goodness knows that you don't need to read a book on the subject, it's basic common knowledge.
Similarly a farmer - sorry, a law abiding farmer, will know if he wants to construct a new building/barn or whatever, he WILL need planning permission. We could take you to a number of local farmers (people who do actually farm the land!) and ask them their experiences. Most will be able to tell you how the slightest alteration requires permission and if they slipped up, the planning authority would be quick to move in - and in most cases, rightly so!
In 2002, Mr White of Lee Farm, Station Road, Thurstaston, submitted a planning application for an 'Agricultural storage' barn for the provision of PYO fruit that was to be grown on the site. (so far so good hey!). The application was refused, but a similar one was submitted soon afterwards (in fact we couldn't tell the difference between the two!).
The ITPAS committee considered 6 points in assessing the application:-
1.
the
increasing conversion of barns to residential premises taking place locally and
across The Wirral, thus reducing agricultural activity and highlighting the long
term potential affects of such a building being granted permission
2.
the
fact the applicant already had “agricultural storage” facilities at nearby
Lee Farm
3.
consideration
was given to the fact the applicant had recently purchased an on going well
established fruit farm at Sandy Lane Irby and had left it untendered, unused and
in poor condition. Coupled with the fact
4.
the
land was in Green Belt
5.
the
land was close to a conservation area
6. the land was close to a site designated SSSI by the local authority
Despite the considerations favouring an objection to this application, the ITPAS committee concluded that we would not make a formal objection based on the fact its intention was solely to be for “agricultural storage”. We decided to base on trust, the applicants intentions, but would monitor the development for any anticipated change of use. Of course at that time, there was no mention of the requirement for UPVC double glazing, a patio with tables & chairs, a huge car park or a meat processing warehouse.
When planning was approved, a number of conditions were stipulated one of which was not to build during the Barn Owl breeding season - this and the other conditions were largely ignored!
Within a relatively short time, UPVC windows were fitted to all sides, followed by a huge hard standing (car park) area and subsequently a veranda - none of these additions ever sought planning permission - we suspect due to the fact we doubt they would have been granted!
Our own investigations revealed that 'White's Farm' was anything but... we have monitored the whole area for sometime, we rarely if ever see agricultural activity. Occasionally we see cows in the fields and sometimes flocks of sheep, which as it turns out belong to a Welsh farmer who grazes them on Mr White's land.
Eventually (spring 2007) the WBC Planning enforcement took action and Mr White was ordered to remove the hardstanding, the UPVC windows, the veranda & decking area and to cease trading as a retail outlet.
Mr White appealed and was allowed to continue trading whilst an appeal hearing was arranged, firstly for the summer of 2007, which was put off to December 2007, which in turn was once more adjourned to 7th March 2008.
This of course gave us plenty of time to gather evidence. As mentioned, we found very little agricultural activity. The farm shop appeared to have large boxes of 'broken biscuits' for sale along with other confectionary items, non dairy produce and certainly from the purchases we made, a vast amount of imported items.
In his submissions, Mr White put forward a case in which he said the following livestock was raised on the 'farm'.
 |
15 Pigs |
|
200 Sheep |
|
80 Aberdeen Angus |
|
140 cattle |
|
100 Chickens |
|
200 Geese |
a claim was also made that 500 - 600 eggs were produced each week!
also in his submissions, Mr White conceded that the building did not conform to the planning regulations. He also stated that the UPVC double glazing was fitted at the time of the build. This fact was contested by many and the point was made that if it was done in any legal manner, it would have formed part of the then planning application.
Mr White also stated that nearly all the goods for sale in the shop where produced on the farm (not by the looks of the above photo!).
In respect of the hard standing, Mr White said that there could be more than 100 cars parked over the course of a good day. We have never seen more than 5! Mr White had previously submitted photographs of a very full car park to demonstrate one such busy day. However it was soon realised that such photographs were taken on the day of the Wirral Coastal Walk, which finishes in Thurstaston each May and the field has been used as an overspill car park for the last few years. The walk generates approximately 3 - 4000 walkers each year! No photographs were produced by Mr White for any other day of the year!
At the time of writing, the Planning Inspector has yet to make his decision, which we would expect sometime in mid April. Call back for the result.
In the meantime, you may wish to consider the original application from 2002, which can be viewed here. This was the second application for the same structure, the first being refused. There wasn't any noticable difference between the two, but there were a number of conditions imposed by the Planning dept before the build took place and as a condition of approval. Despite the fact most of these conditions were breached, no action was ever taken! The conditions were as follows...
more information to be added - call back soon.....
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Park Improvements
More fencing for Thurstaston Common
