Woodland Skills Centre Wins Approval for Staff Dwelling Despite Planning Objections

A woodland skills centre will be allowed to erect a staff dwelling, despite Denbighshire’s planning officers advising councillors reject the application.
At a planning committee meeting today (Monday), Denbighshire’s planning committee voted in favour of Rod Waterfield being granted permission for the dwelling at The Warren in Bodfari, Denbigh, for the Woodland Skills Centre.
The centre specialises in health and wellbeing courses and runs various woodland craft programmes for adults with learning disabilities and special education in schools.
The centre also works with pupil inclusion and charities working with adults with alcohol and substance misuse problems.
The plans for the social enterprise included a septic tank and associated works at the 50 acres of woodland in the Clwydian Range, an Area of Natural Beauty.
But Denbighshire’s planning officers advised councillors to refuse permission.
Planning officers argued the labour requirement for opening and closing the site had been met for several years by the applicant who lives six miles away.
They also doubted an essential need for an on-site labour requirement relating to animal welfare and crop protection.
But several councillors spoke in defence of the plans.
Cllr Chris Evans said “There are a lot of issues in my ward, especially that end, with closeness to the A55, with crime on farms.
“This place has got machinery, computers, hardware, a lot. Now if we had cameras, the timescale of somebody getting there if they were living in Bodfari or Mold would be 20 or 30 minutes and longer for the police.
“So the security is quite important if nobody is there, and we have to remember what Mr Waterfield has done. He hasn’t been clocking in at 8am and going home at 4pm. He’s been there 7am till 7pm at night.”
He added: “So he has been the security, hasn’t he? But we have to look at if this site is gone, the amount of people who will suffer and be at a loss is massive, and there are pigs, chickens, and the welfare of those animals. That’s important, isn’t it?
“And then we’ve got the site and welfare and the health and safety of people coming to the caravan site to enjoy our county.”
Cllr Chris Evans proposed the committee backed the planning application, and this was seconded by Cllr Ellie Chard.
The application was passed with 17 votes in favour, two against, and no abstentions.
The committee will need to reaffirm its decision at a future planning meeting as councillors went against officers’ recommendation.

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter