A high-end restaurant, music venue and events venue in the Herefordshire countryside has won an “incredibly tough” planning battle to host weddings at its new £3million facilities.
Crumplebury Farm, home of the Green Cow Kitchens restaurant, applied for the demolition of five of the farm’s outbuildings near Whitbourne, east of Bromyard, in July 2017 to make use of the space for the expansion of the restaurant and event facilities and to build 16 ‘residential suites’.
The request was granted, but with several conditions, including that it “should be used for a restaurant, guest accommodation and conference center and for no other purpose” and that no music should be played after 11pm.
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At the end of 2019, with the £3million redevelopment already complete, the farm applied to have the “unreasonable” usage restriction lifted so it could host weddings and other events as originally intended and also have the time music was allowed until midnight extended.
It was reported at the time that the venue had already taken around £1million in advance for wedding bookings by that point.
The offer met around 40 local objections and despite the council official’s recommendation that it be granted, in November 2020 the council planning committee members decided to reject it, citing the likely impact on neighbors and road safety.
But planning inspector Mazer Aqbal has now agreed with the venue’s owner that it was “inappropriate” for the original permit to restrict its use.
Because the problem depended in part on potential disturbance to neighbors, the establishment’s adoption of a noise management plan, like the required permit, meant the usage restriction was “not necessary or relevant to the plan,” he said.
The noise control plan envisaged a volume-limiting sound system in the Great Hall, which can be ventilated without opening windows and doors, and the installation of acoustic curtains in it.
However, Mr Aqbal concluded that the original condition, limiting the time up to which music could be played to 11pm, was “necessary and proportionate to ensure the living conditions of the neighbours”.
He also imposed a condition preventing fireworks from appearing on the farm, which was also a point of contention with neighbors.
Expanding use of the yard to include social functions, meanwhile, is “unlikely to significantly impact road safety,” he added.
Farm owner Joe Evans said of the inspector’s decision:
“While we are relieved that the planning inspector upheld our appeal and removed condition 4 from our planning approval, we are not pleased with the process or the divide it has created in our community.
“When we received planning permission to build Crumplebury as a multi-purpose venue in 2017, we had no reason to believe it would preclude weddings. The planning inspector’s decision confirms this, and for that we are grateful.
“It has been and remains our aim to make Crumplebury a force for good – a sensitively built, environmentally sound, financially viable business that employs local people, puts rural Herefordshire on the map and helps generate much needed investment in the bring county.
“The appeal process and the publicity that came with it were incredibly draining, both emotionally and financially.
“We are grateful that with this ruling we are now free to fulfill our vision of creating a culturally rich program of events in Crumplebury, from classical music to comedy to conferences and weddings.”