Plans for village honey processing plant set for rejection
Plans for a new building to process honey and beeswax on land off Ulley Lane in Aughton are set to be refused after council officers concluded the development would be inappropriate in the Green Belt.
.An application for a proposed agricultural-style building at land to the north east corner of Highfield Lodge, Ulley Lane, Aughton, will be considered by the planning board on January 22. Officers have recommended refusal following objections from local residents and a petition signed by 39 people.
The proposal seeks permission to erect a modular building measuring around 17.5 metres by six metres, to be used for processing honey and wax products from beehives. The applicant says the unit would house equipment for decapping, extraction, cleaning and jarring honey, along with storage for finished products and beekeeping equipment.
According to the planning statement, the business supplies retailers and online customers and employs up to four people during busy periods. The applicant also argues that moving processing closer to the hives would reduce transport and improve environmental sustainability.
However, planning officers say the site lies within the Green Belt and that the proposed use does not qualify as agriculture. While beekeeping itself can be classed as agricultural, the report concludes that the processing and jarring of honey and wax would amount to a light industrial use.
In a report to members, officers state that most of the honey and wax processed at the site would be brought in from other locations across the north of England and the East Midlands, meaning there is no functional need for the building to be located in the Green Belt.
The report adds that the new building would introduce a permanent structure into what is currently open land, reducing the openness of the Green Belt and leading to encroachment. Officers say no “very special circumstances” have been put forward to outweigh this harm.
Residents who objected to the scheme raised concerns about the number of bees already on the site, noise, smells from a proposed reed bed wastewater system, and the potential for the development to set a precedent for further commercial buildings in the area.
A petition submitted to the council claims bees from the site have affected neighbouring gardens, cars and washing, and questioned whether non-native bees were harming local wildlife.
The applicant has since reduced the number of hives on the land, which officers say has helped lessen the impact on neighbours. Environmental health officers also confirmed that the council has no powers to control the number or type of bees kept on the site.
Highways officers raised no objections, saying the level of traffic generated would be limited, with a small number of employee vehicles and up to five deliveries a week.
The application is being referred to the planning board due to the level of public objection. Three people have requested to speak at the meeting, including the applicant and two objectors.
If members follow officers’ advice, the scheme would be refused on the grounds that it represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt, contrary to local planning policy and national guidance.
The application will be determined by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council’s planning board at its meeting on January 22.