A FARMER has passionately spoken out at a planning meeting at Winchester City Council in favour of building a home for extra workers.

The tenant farmer James Gray was at the planning meeting to make his case for the single storey dwelling at land off Wonston Lane in Sutton Scotney.

The bungalow would be within the Wonston Manor farmyard complex which is currently owned by the Church of England Commissioners.

Despite the fact that there had been eight letters in support of the application planning officers opposed the new dwelling on the grounds that they felt there was no need for an extra on-site dwelling and that the new worker could live elsewhere.

Cllr Ian Tait said that he was disappointed that the County Land Agent wasn’t at the meeting to advise the councillors.

The design and size of the proposed dwelling was praised by Cllr David McLean.

Cllr Brian Laming said that he believed that there was a genuine need for this dwelling and that the new worker would likely need to be at work at a moment’s notice. Also if one of his staff retires they could remain in their property and that would leave a shortage of accommodation.

Ward councillors Stephen Godfrey and county councillor Jackie Porter spoke in favour of the new dwelling.

Cllr Godfrey said: “Many applications for agricultural homes are deeply spurious however Jackie Porter and I are very supportive of this application. This family has farmed this land since 1899. The farm by the terms of its tenancy cannot be diversified. It has to live by agriculture and has to demonstrate that it is sustainable.”

Cllr Jackie Porter said that she supported the application as there was very little appropriate accommodation nearby for a farmhand and family, as the farm had cattle the worker needed to live nearby. The applicant is from a family that has farmed in the area for over 100 years and the council needed to support employment in rural areas.

It was though Mr Gray’s impassioned plea that may have won over the committee. Mr Gray pointed out that the farm had doubled the sheep and cattle numbers and said “We desperately need more labour at a moment's notice.”

He added “We’ve taken on another 140 acres of grazing land, but I can’t expand without more labour. Without more labour, come 2020 we will be finished."

Mr Gray said that he currently employed three full time staff and one part-time worker but that he needed to six or seven staff to maintain the farm and they needed to be housed. He also pointed out that with Brexit the Common Agricultural Policy will no longer help farmers and he needed to be able to expand the farm to survive. He said that as his son was going to take on the farm when he retired it needed to be a secure business for the next 50 years.

The councillors voted to approve the planning application with six in favour, two against and one abstention.