Developer loses Alpacas appeal

A GOVERNMENT-appointed planning inspector has thrown out an appeal by Warrington property developer Brian Foden against the refusal of permission for a building for storage and accommodation for special breed Alpacas.
He says the single storey building on farm land adjoining Barondale Grange, Stockport Road, Thelwall would unduly erode the openness of the Green Belt site and materially detract from its intrinsic semi-rural character.
Warrington Borough Council refused planning consent for the development in May last year and Mr Foden subsequently appealed.
The inspector, Gary Deane, said the proposed building would not be inappropriate development in the Green Belt.
But it would be a sizable structure with a rudimentary, utilitarian built form in a pleasant, grassw area with well established trees.
He ruled it would harm the openness, character and appearance of the Green Belt.
The inspector also expressed the view that even allowing for a greater number of animals to be bred and sold at the location, the sale of fur at much higher price in a niche market and significant economies of scale in buying items such as hay in bulk, there was little to indicate that the enterprise would achieve a net financial return in the longer term.