Latest news with #TumiHawkins
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Demolition order for 'horse lab' built as a home
A property owner has been told to demolish a stable converted into a home instead of a facility to analyse horse semen and house workers. Planners described the two-storey, two-bedroom house near Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, as a "flagrant breach of planning policy". Permission was granted in 2014 to build a replacement stable block and a horse laboratory, with a small upstairs flat linked to the lab use. Council planners said while the outside of the building looked like the approved plans, the inside was solely a residential home. A planning inspector has ordered the house to be knocked down by 6 May 2026. South Cambridgeshire District Council issued an enforcement notice in July 2023 requiring demolition of the property, which the owner appealed against. However, the Planning Inspectorate dismissed the appeal, saying the house was "decidedly residential". An inspector who visited the site in January said: "No laboratory has been installed, no research or stored equipment associated with the business is apparent, either on the photographs from 2022 or at the time of my visit." The ground floor had a kitchen, island breakfast bar and home furnishings instead of a horse semen collection and analysis business. Upstairs, where there was meant to be a self-contained living space with a kitchen, there was no such kitchen. Tumi Hawkins, South Cambridgeshire District Council's lead cabinet member for planning, welcomed the decision. "This case shows the importance of adhering to the specific uses and conditions that justify development in rural areas," she said. The inspector said it would be necessary to knock the house down, and that keeping the building but stopping people from living there alone would not be enough. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Plans to replace office block named after rebel New homes on meadow approved despite objections City centre plans refined after public feedback Greater Cambridge Shared Planning
BBC News
16-05-2025
- BBC News
Demolition order for 'horse lab' built as Cambridgeshire home
A property owner has been told to demolish a stable converted into a home instead of a facility to analyse horse semen and house described the two-storey, two-bedroom house near Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, as a "flagrant breach of planning policy".Permission was granted in 2014 to build a replacement stable block and a horse laboratory, with a small upstairs flat linked to the lab use. Council planners said while the outside of the building looked like the approved plans, the inside was solely a residential home.A planning inspector has ordered the house to be knocked down by 6 May 2026. 'Decidedly residential' South Cambridgeshire District Council issued an enforcement notice in July 2023 requiring demolition of the property, which the owner appealed the Planning Inspectorate dismissed the appeal, saying the house was "decidedly residential".An inspector who visited the site in January said: "No laboratory has been installed, no research or stored equipment associated with the business is apparent, either on the photographs from 2022 or at the time of my visit."The ground floor had a kitchen, island breakfast bar and home furnishings instead of a horse semen collection and analysis where there was meant to be a self-contained living space with a kitchen, there was no such Hawkins, South Cambridgeshire District Council's lead cabinet member for planning, welcomed the decision."This case shows the importance of adhering to the specific uses and conditions that justify development in rural areas," she inspector said it would be necessary to knock the house down, and that keeping the building but stopping people from living there alone would not be enough. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
07-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Housing targets are being implemented too fast, says councillor
The government's new housing targets could lead to more "uncontrolled development" and were being implemented "too fast" in an area, according to Greater Cambridge Shared Planning (GCSP) service said the fact the housing targets took effect immediately meant their five-year "land supply" was now service - covering Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire - has had a local plan in place, but after the targets were increased the councils needed to create a new plan, showing how they would meet the councils do not have an adequate plan then some developments, which may not be what the councils want, are more likely to get planning permission. "Land supply" means land that has planning permission for new homes and is likely to be built on within five years. According to a statement issued by the GCSP, the housing target for the two councils was increased by around a third, from 1,726 to 2,309 homes per year. They say a buffer has also been introduced which, combined with the increase, means the service needs to be able to demonstrate they will build more than 12,100 homes in the Greater Cambridge area over five GCSP reported in April 2024 that the housing trajectory for the five-year period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029 was 11,190 homes, equating to a demonstrated supply of 6.5 years prior to the changes in December 2024. However, with the new target set by government increasing to 12,100, effective immediately, the supply has fallen to just under five years. The immediacy of the new housing targets has caused concern among the Liberal Democrat leadership at South Cambridgeshire District cabinet member for planning, Tumi Hawkins, said the "guidance has been implemented too fast" and called for a transition views were echoed by leader Bridget Smith, who said the "inflexibility risks compromising" their ability to build "new, high quality affordable homes". 'Challenges' Conservative opposition leader Heather Williams said she feared it would lead to unsustainable developments. "This is not just about where houses are built," she said."It's about our communities, some of which may grow out of control as a consequence – putting more pressure on local schools and GP surgeries."The executive councillor for planning, building control and infrastructure on the Labour-run Cambridge City Council, Katie Thornburrow, said she recognised that "changing the target for new homes with immediate effect creates some challenges", but said she was confident they could be said: "As part of preparing our next housing trajectory report to be published in April 2025, planning officers will explore options to remove barriers and speed up the delivery of the 36,000 new homes that already have planning permission in Greater Cambridge, as well as identifying suitable future developments – such as the council's own housebuilding programme – in order to meet the new target." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
