The owner of a farm on the outskirts of Norwich has criticised government advisors’ environmental directive saying it is making it difficult for small businesses to thrive.
Trevor Thain, who owns Black Barn Farm in Salhouse, slammed nutrient neutrality rules after it led to Broadland District Council rejecting plans to pitch caravans on his land.
The business owner has been struggling to get planning permission for 18 caravan pitches to the rear of a farm shop and café at the site.
Earlier this month, a planning committee refused the application saying it had not been demonstrated that the plans "wouldn't have an adverse impact on a protected site".
Government advisors Natural England brought in this directive to councils in Norfolk more than two years ago.
This stopped councils from being able to grant planning applications for any development within the catchment areas of the River Wensum and the Broads because of concerns that nutrients created by development could go into waterways and harm wildlife.
Councils were told developments had to prove they would not lead to an increase in phosphate or nutrient run-off - or measures to mitigate the impact would be needed if they would.
County councillor for Salhouse, Fran Whymark, said that the directive "has disproportionally impacted smaller developers".
However, the council has taken steps to help smaller developers mitigate the measures with the setting up of Norfolk Environmental Credits which sells credits to anyone looking to develop land in the protected area.
'I'M DETERMINED TO MAKE IT WORK'
Mr Thain put in the plans for the 18-pitch caravan site after seeing increasing interest while opening his farm to caravaners for a couple of weeks each summer.
He revealed that in four months in 2021 he had 162 bookings, with visitors leaving a 9.5 overall rating, which he said proves its popularity.
He said: "We want people to be coming to the local area. We need to protect what we have and build upon it.
"This refusal doesn't help with tourism - which is especially important given that we are right next to the Norfolk Broads and rely heavily upon that trade.
"Black Barn Farm is full of small businesses. Some caravans would mean that people are travelling to Norfolk and spending a little bit of money supporting local businesses here rather than heading to a different part of the country or the world.
"If the government wants small businesses to adapt and diversify then they need to make it possible for that to happen."
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He said: "We are working closely with Broadland District Council to work out a way through this and our next steps.
"We need the government to clearly lay out the goalposts so that we can work really hard to meet them. We just need to know which direction to kick the ball in.
"I'm passionate about this and doggedly determined to make it work - for both the people we employ and the local businesses in the area."
'I'M CONFIDENT THAT THIS CAN STILL HAPPEN'
Cllr Whymark has supported Mr Thain's application from the start and is sure that with a few tweaks, it will get over the line.
He said: "Black Barn Farm is an enormous success and really important for the local economy.
"It's a wonderful space in Salhouse and it is bringing in money, employment and tourism to the area. Getting the 18 caravans on site would be a huge boost for us.
"I'm confident that another application for the site would get the go-ahead - Trevor just needs to assure the planners that he has a mitigation scheme in place to achieve nutrient neutrality."
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