History
7.105 Within Wyre Forest District there are approximately 380 known properties described as 'shacks' or 'chalets'. These are buildings constructed of materials of less than average permanency and used for residential occupation. Most of them were built in the 1920s and 1930s in response to a post War housing shortage which was exacerbated by the Second World War, during which many owners took up permanent occupation. Further chalets were built after the war, but before the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act began to be used as a means of control. Hence the majority of chalets are "pre-Act". However, most are now used as holiday homes.
7.106 In planning terms, the presence of chalets is recognised due to their physical existence. Each one is individual, and most have no conditions restricting the time of year during which they may be occupied. Many are in locations inappropriate for permanent residential occupation due to their comparative remoteness and poor accessibility. Most are certainly not in what is now regarded as sustainable locations. Many chalets appear to be permanently occupied throughout the year, although it is doubtful that this was originally intended. They are therefore regarded as dwellings for development control purposes.
7.107 It is recognised that existing chalet sites make a contribution to the stock of holiday accommodation in the District, and to its recreational image, but there is a need to control their development in order to arrest:
- the visual impact of chalet sites on the Green Belt and Landscape Protection Areas;
- the evolution of chalet sites into permanent residential areas for which planning permission would not have been given in such sensitive locations, or in flood plains.
Distribution
7.108 Of the 380 chalets in the Wyre Forest District, approximately 78% are situated in the Severn Valley itself, the largest concentrations being at Hill Farm including Severn Meadow, Northwood Lane, Bewdley; Hawkbatch Farm in the Parish of Upper Arley on the west bank of the Severn opposite Hill Farm; and Hungry Hill Farm in the north west corner of Upper Arley. Smaller concentrations are to be found at Pound Green and Far Forest. All are in areas of planning constraint where development is controlled by landscape protection policies, and those to the east of the River Severn are under the additional control of Green Belt policies. The nature of their construction and materials means that the chalets are particularly intrusive features in the landscape. The Hill Farm and Hawkbatch Farm sites are very prominent within the Severn Valley itself, and the higher, more easterly parts of Hill Farm intrude into the panoramic vista from Long Bank west of Bewdley. Although most of the individual chalet plots are well vegetated, the sites contain few mature trees of any screening value, with the exception of the Hungry Hill Farm site.
Occupation
7.109 Historically the chalets have been used at weekends and during the summer by holidaymakers, but there is increasing evidence of their use for permanent occupation. Many occupants are of retirement age and may have built or bought their chalets many years ago as holiday homes to which they have now retreated. Some chalets have been made permanent by erecting a brick skin on the outside, and many have been improved to standards required for permanent occupancy.
7.110 In seeking to retain some of the original characteristics of the holiday chalets, and to enhance the quality of the chalet sites' environment the Council will encourage and support a high standard of repair and maintenance. For the purposes of Policies CH.1 - CH.4, the term "older chalets" shall be taken to mean chalets listed in the Council's Shacks Site Survey, as updated in 1992.
Extensions and Improvements
7.111 Many of the chalets, which have been extended at some time in
their history, have already used up their Permitted Development Rights. Some
have been brick skinned and taken on the character of permanent dwellings
in the countryside. Planning permission would be required for any further
extensions beyond Permitted Development.
Extensions and Improvements to Permanently Occupied Chalets
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Policy CH.1 Extensions to older chalets lawfully occupied on a permanent basis will be limited to those permissible under permitted development rights. Proposals for larger extensions will only be permitted where they would: i) enhance the appearance of the existing chalet in relation to the site as a whole and the surrounding landscape; and ii) have no significant adverse impact on the amenity of adjacent chalets; and comply with all other relevant policies of the Local Plan. Improvements will be considered on their merits according to their impact on the existing and adjacent structures, the site as a whole, and the landscape. |
Note 1: In this context "original" does not mean previous or existing, but as is assigned in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1997.
Note 2: Many chalets will have already been extended up to and beyond the 70 cubic metres limit and will therefore have no further capacity for extension.
Extension to Holiday Chalets
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Policy CH.2 Extensions to older chalets, which are holiday chalets subject to limited occupancy conditions, will not be permitted unless they would: i) enhance the appearance of the existing chalet in relation to the site as a whole and the surrounding landscape; and ii) have no significant adverse impact on amenity of adjacent chalets; and comply with all other relevant policies of the Local Plan. |
Changes of Use from Limited to Permanent Occupation
7.112 Pressures to further extend and modernise holiday chalets exists, and could lead to the chalet sites evolving into permanent residential estates. This would be highly undesirable because they are usually located in areas of Green Belt and/or Landscape Protection Areas where residential development would not normally be permitted. Furthermore, they are not in what is now regarded as sustainable locations, often with the following accessibility problems:
- poor access roads,
often rough tracks, which become boggy and rutted in winter;
- standards of car parking and private amenity space are inconsistent with
those required for permanent residential development;
- remote from fixed services (shops, schools etc.);
- difficult and costly for mobile services to reach (e.g. refuse collection,
fire, medical etc.);
- liable to flooding.
Change
of Nature of Occupation
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Policy CH.3 Change of use of an older holiday chalet to permanent residentialoccupation will not be permitted unless:
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Replacement
7.113 New development within the Green Belt is not permitted except in very special circumstances (see Policies GB.1 and GB.2). Most chalet development took place prior to the establishment of planning legislation. If legislation had been in place at the time, the erection of holiday chalets, which were developed from a range of temporary structures and unaesthetic materials, in prominent locations in areas of high quality landscape, would not have been allowed. It is the Council's aim to reduce the adverse visual impact made by chalet development in Landscape Protection Areas.
Replacement
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Policy CH.4 The replacement of an older chalet by another chalet, caravan or mobile home, will not be permitted unless the replacement would result in a reduction in the visual impact on the landscape, and the proposal would comply with other relevant policies of the Plan. Any planning permission granted for a replacement chalet will be subject to conditions restricting its occupation to holiday use only. Proposals for the replacement of chalets by permanent brick built structures will be refused. |
Note 1: Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, as amended, a caravan is defined as "capable of being moved by towing either on wheels or a transporter."
Note 2: The development of new holiday chalet sites is controlled by (Policy TM.5.).