A BID to convert a bungalow into a two-storey house has been dismissed as a “bulky development” in the countryside that would harm a special landscape area.
The application process also uncovered that a condition of the original planning permission, from 1989, restricted the occupation of the bungalow to agricultural workers or someone recently retired from agriculture.
Torfaen Borough Council planners said creating a first floor, with four bedrooms, would “significantly increase the size of the property” without justification which as well as being an unwarranted development in the countryside it would “undermine the agricultural occupancy condition”.
Dismissing the application planning officer Caroline Pulley said there was no evidence the applicant is an agricultural worker and said there was a lack of financial information for the council to make a decision including whether it would “continue to be affordable for agricultural workers in the future.”
Her report stated: “Approval of the proposed extension could create favourable conditions for the later removal of the occupancy condition in the future.”
The bungalow is in a field off the Croesyceiliog by-pass, which is in the open countryside, and part of the South Eastern Lowlands Special Landscape Area.
The application was rejected and Ms Pulley stated: “It would also result in a bulky form of development which would harm the character and appearance of the Special Landscape Area.”
There was also a lack of information on how any development would impact bats that are a protected species.