(30 December 2012, 11:14)bigpaul Wrote: in general, most councils in Devon and Somerset EXPECT you to be able to earn a living from the land, any "external" wage is not classed as earning a living from the land and is ignored for planning purposes, if you cant earn a living from the land then your PP is denied, that seems to be how it works down here in principle.
I would think most councils would use the expectation of profitability as the first test in determining whether agriculture was likely to continue. The stonewall attitude of most local authorities puts people off building on ag land to create a small holding, however, the ruling in Petter and Harris V Sec State said the reasoning behind the ruling in the planning act must be considered. The reasoning is that so agricultural land is not turned into residential land by the back door.
Jarmain v Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions [2001] further clarified the fact that in ALL aspects of planning law, inspectors must consider the reason behind policy, not just the policy itself.
Planning inspectors will always ere on the side of the written law rather than its interpretation and precedence set down by the courts if that interpretation does not present them with a list of hard and fast rules and guidlines. Planning inspectors are by their very nature bureaucratic people and both Petter and Harris and Jarmain require them to think for themselves, which they have been trained not to do.
To whit, it is easier for councils to say you have to make a profit from the venture than for someone to make a judgement call. Councils would also prefer people not to 'live like bumpkins'.
Until you press a council yourself with the rulings from Petter and Harris and Jarmain, they will not acknowledge that aspect of the law.
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