A couple have criticised a ‘ridiculous’ decision to block them from converting a holiday let into a family home because of its ‘rural’ location.
Alison and Richard Stamper had hoped to turn the beautiful thatched four-bedroom cottage into an idyllic home.
But Dorset Council refused on the grounds that it was too remote – despite being ten minutes from Dorchester town centre – and whoever lived there would be ‘reliant on a car’.
The decision comes at a time when the Labour Government is threatening to build on greenbelt sites to achieve a target of creating 1.5 million new homes in five years.
Dorset is also among local authorities to slap a council tax premium on second homes because of an acute lack of properties in the county for locals.
Alison and Richard Stamper had hoped to turn the beautiful thatched four-bedroom cottage into an idyllic home
Dorset Council refused on the grounds that it was too remote – despite being ten minutes from Dorchester town centre
Some areas have even introduced rules banning new homes being sold to people who won’t use them as their primary residence.
The Stampers also pointed out that holidaymakers who hire the cottage at present need a car to get there.
‘They are being a bit pedantic about it being an isolated rural home. I wouldn’t call it remote or isolated,’ said Mrs Stamper, 54.
‘The same week they turned us down, they passed a very similar lifting of holiday condition on a similar property that was rural, not far from ours. It doesn’t make any sense and it doesn’t seem fair.’
She added: ‘If there is a house that is already physically built and able to be lived in, it’s ridiculous that it sits there empty for half of the year.’
The couple bought Greenwood Grange in Higher Brockhampton in March last year, a site with 16 luxury holiday cottages in the heart of Thomas Hardy country. The former barns were converted in the late 1980s.
The cottage they want to turn into a family residence, called Henchard, sits apart from the other properties and has its own private entrance, making it ideal to be used as a regular home.
They would either move into it from their current home in Chickerell, near Weymouth, or turn it into a long-term rental asset, providing a home for a local family.
But their application was turned down last month, with the rejection notice citing its ‘rural location’.
A couple have criticised a ‘ridiculous’ decision to block them from converting a holiday let into a family home because of its ‘rural’ location
The Stampers also pointed out that holidaymakers who hire the cottage at present need a car to get there
But their application was turned down last month, with the rejection notice citing its ‘rural location’
Stinsford Parish Council, which was consulted by the county council, also objected to the plan, saying it would ‘dilute’ the original intentions for the site as ‘holiday accommodation and facilities’.
Mrs Stamper said the parish council might be reluctant to ‘set a precedent’ for other holiday home owners in the area.
But she added: ‘That would free up an awful lot of houses that are tied up at the moment that could be available for people’s homes.
‘You could have 16 homes here instead of 16 holiday cottages.’
Her husband, 53, said: ‘If the Government made it easier for people to lose the holiday restrictions country-wide, it will eventually have an effect on the housing pool.’
There are no other houses near the site and there were no public objections to the application.
The couple, who have a son and daughter who help run the business, said Henchard was originally built as a tearoom and, if it was still used for this purpose, it would have been granted permission to be converted into a permanent home under permitted development.
They have appealed the council’s decision and the matter will be heard by a planning inspector on a date to be set
‘It’s basically taking everything down to exact requirements – there is no flexibility,’ said Mrs Stamper.
They have appealed the council’s decision and the matter will be heard by a planning inspector on a date to be set – but the decision will not be revealed until as late as next August.
A spokesman for Dorset Council – which last month revealed it has 6,000 families on its waiting list – said: ‘The site is remote from everyday services and facilities and, as such, any occupier would be extremely likely to be reliant on a car to access services and facilities.
‘Given this, it is not in a sustainable location for new open market housing.’