Stuart Wright first submitted a planning application to Dumfries and Galloway Council in November 2020 for a single-storey home and detached garage on his land at Hunthills Farm in Parkgate. It would be around 200 metres from the existing farmhouse.
The farmer and his wife have handed over the farmhouse to their son and have been renting a property a few miles away while awaiting the outcome of their planning application.
They have been “bewildered” by the lengthy delay in the council processing the application, and were shocked when it was finally rejected by planners in April this year.
The refusal was on the grounds that any building should be built as part of the farm hub, and was too far away at 200m.
It was also claimed the house design would “not integrate well with the landscape setting”.
An agent from H K Thorburn house builders in Lochmaben submitted a written appeal to the council’s local review body panel on their behalf.
It reads: “Mr and Mrs Wright are now renting a property some four miles from the farm and Mr Wright is travelling back and forth to the farm daily, sometimes three or four times per day to continue his work there with his son.
“Mr and Mrs Wright are bewildered at the length of time this whole planning process has taken.”
The agent explained that all necessary documents were originally submitted in November 2020 and then withdrawn on the advice of the planning officer.
An amended application was submitted in August 2021 – but after eight months it was refused.
The agent stated: “They are still very keen to build their house on the farm where they can retire but still assist with the everyday running of the farm.”
The appeal was considered at last Thursday’s local review body meeting with councillors agreeing on a site visit to see the location and the visual impact on the landscape.
The case will come back to the local review body in the coming months.
