Planning Permission was Approved unanimously by Planning Committee members on the 7th October 2020, in an online ‘Zoom’ committee meeting at Broadland District Council, for our latest Paragraph 79 dwelling, The Walled Garden near Coltishall, Norfolk. Ward member Jo Copplestone spoke in support of the scheme with all councillors commenting favourably. The Chair, Councillor Susan Lawn, called the scheme ‘Absolutely brilliant, very exciting’. Councillor Roger Foulger declared it ‘an outstanding project… extremely sustainable’ adding ‘Everyone concerned with it needs to be commended for all the effort put in.’ And Councillor Nigel Brennan said it was ‘a most excellent and worthy project.’
The successful attainment of what is known amongst the conoscienti as a ‘Paragraph 79’, is something of a ‘holy grail’ for architects and visionary clients alike. The National Planning Policy Framework describes, in its ‘paragraph 79’, the possibility for planning committees to consider the approval of isolated and one-off dwellings in the countryside if they can be shown to be one or more of the following: exceptional in design, innovative in nature, securing the future of an heritage asset and enhancing the immediate surroundings.
The bar is set necessarily extremely high and many planning authorities are instinctively against approving any dwellings outside of village development boundaries. So, those clients who have aspirations to build a unique home in a remote or unusual location, must have vision, determination and faith and we applaud them for it! Especially when, as in this case, we are able to fulfil their wildest dreams.
We must thank other team members who have all contributed to this successful outcome including One Planning, Archia, Chris Yardley and Heritage Energy. You can read more about this scheme in our Paragraph 79 section: The Walled Garden. The Planning Committee’s deliberation on the project submission has been recorded. If you would like to know more about the process or are simply interested in seeing how a Planning Application is considered, please see the video clip here.
