Hambledon residents are probably aware that Feathercombe Farm has been sold and its new owners, Alice and Rebecca Servaes, trading as The Trinity Partnership, will operate the 240-acres of land for the business of breeding, selling and grazing polo ponies.
Villagers may wish to know that the Trinity Partnership has just served notice of its intention to erect a new building in the field beyond the village church.
It is described as an “agricultural livestock building” in documents lodged with Waverley Borough Council. However, on plans also submitted, it appears to be essentially for equine use and the single 47-metre oblong building will contain an office, vet room, 13 stable units, a feed room and storage space. The plans indicate the barn will be built in the middle distance of the view from the church, photographed below.
On the basis it is an agricultural construction, the applicants are not going through the full planning procedure, but instead notifying Waverley of their intention to build. Waverley only has until June 28th to consider the proposal and reach a decision on whether the application qualifies under the terms of a General Permitted Development. If it does not make a ruling, the building will go ahead.
The new barn, mainly windowless and with a ridge height of 7.4 metres, will be built in the field known as Fourteen Acre Copse, in the far corner where the public footpath reaches the kissing gate into the woodland below Hydon’s Ball.
The building would be clearly visible over a wide area, including from the nearby Greensand Way long-distance footpath. The field, which currently has no buildings in it, is within the Green Belt and the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, although no mention of this is made in the application.
Nor is there any mention of vehicle access or provision of services, such as water and electricity, to what is currently an open field in a scenic location.
The application form, submitted by The Trinity Partnership, asks: “Can the site be seen from a public road, public footpath, bridleway or other public land?” The agent for the applicants has replied “No”.
Residents will know that public right of way 181 runs right beside the area of the proposed new building, from the Greensand Way beside St Peter’s Church through the kissing gates towards Hydon’s Ball, and the new building would be visible from the top of Church Lane, a public road.
Hambledon Parish Council has serious reservations about this proposal. It was not notified of the application until after the council met earlier this month and it will be determined before it next meets, in early July. The applicants have not offered to meet with the parish council to discuss the proposal.
As a consequence, the parish council is to hold a special meeting on Tuesday June 27th in order to make a response by the following day. More details on this will follow.
In the meantime, Stewart Payne, parish council chairman, has been in contact with the case officer at Waverley and requested that officers make a site inspection and consider the impact of the proposal in a currently tranquil and unbuilt part of the Surrey Hills AONB. He has also informed the Surrey Hills planning advisor of the proposal.
Feathercombe Farm was, until recently, a family run arable and pasture farm. In the last few years, it has been tended under contract by a neighbouring farmer. Documents submitted with the current application reveal the scale of the new operation with up to 140 horses at peak times including breeding and sales.
Hambledon residents may wish to comment to Waverley about the proposals before June 28. To view the application, visit the planning section of Waverley Borough Council and follow the links to “View and Comment on Planning Applications Online”.
In the search bar enter the application number PRA/2023/01265. You will then be able to read the application documents. Should you wish to comment on them, there is a link entitled “Comment on this Application”. (Clicking on this link should take you directly to the application – Ed.)
Waverley has said it will take into account all comments from members of the public and these should concentrate on relevant planning issues and policies.
The photo below shows the view from half way across Fourteen Acre Copse field. The barn would be constructed in the distance, to the right of the footpath just before it enters the woodland.
Thanks for the bad news. We will certainly be objecting. It will be a carbuncle on the face of Hambledon! It may be a tough one to fight but we must try.
Surely on an existing long standing agricultural establishment there must be existing buildings with appropriate means of access.
This application reeks of sophistry and clearly points to a potential division and sale of part of the property.
We should make the strongest possible protest and secure a stay of execution pending a serious investigation by the Parish Council – David Hall
Wow. If this application is successful it will further highlight the total ineptitude of the Waverley planning dept. This application is playing the system with a clear plan for future change of use / conversion of the barn in time to residential. There is no need to locate the shed in its proposed location. How these people can sleep at night applying to put an enormous shed some 7m+ tall in such a beautiful AONB is beyond me. Disgusting behaviour.
This application is for permitted development for an agricultural building. Under permitted development it doesn’t matter what it looks like, whether it’s in an AONB or nearby a popular footpath so long as it meets the rules for permitted development, then neither the Waverley planners nor the parish council have any say in it. However the proposal is for a barn for horses with stabling for the ponies in winter and other facilities for handling them. An equestrian building is not an agricultural use despite what is claimed in the application. It is a change of use and a full… Read more »
I cannot see any good reason why this building is not erected on the site of Feathercombe Farm which is no great distance away and already has numerous farm buildings. But if, for some reason, it is deemed essential in this location, I would point out that there is already a dilapidated farm building in the corner of the field immediately adjacent to the site of this proposed development, so why not renovate/repurpose that? It is in a far less intrusive location being largely hidden in the trees..
According to the government website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-horses-commercially# : A horse is considered an agricultural animal if it is:
1) used to farm agricultural land or
2) farmed for meat or hides
Breeding horses definitely does not fit in that category.
So depressing. Very disingenuous application. Not a great way to introduce yourself to the village or the thousands of people who visit specifically for its beauty and tranquility. Green belt. AONB. National trust memorial at Hydons Ball. Village Church on a medieval site.The Green Sand Way. My favourite view of all time. It is NOT an agricultural building for the purposes of PD. It requires a full, hopefully rigorous, planning permission.i believed that it is essentially a business endeavour.There is already a farm yard on the site with the scope to build what is required, surely? I’m feeling militant but… Read more »
Completely inappropriate in ANOB, have strongly objected and will spread the the word, unbelievably insensitive of the new owners.
No one seemed to object to the destruction of habitat and woodland in the field at Hydestile crossroads, despite any building and development there would contribute to traffic on the already highly over used Station Lane. Again we are seeing wildlife pushed out of natural habitat for profit. However I agree this next Empire will bring many issues and it is certainly not going to be on a ‘toned down’ basis. The use of current buildings is surely more desirable than erecting new ones which will become more vista spoilers!
Polo ponies are about as much use in agricultural terms as a chocolate teapot. Cats are far more useful. I have objected on so many levels to this completely invalid and inappropriate application