Pembrokeshire planners have approved a resubmitted application to turn a retired architect’s former studio into a long-term let.
Ken and Sue Morgan applied through Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd to turn the redundant office studio / annex at Little Greenway, Station Road, Narberth, into a long-term home.
The application replaced a scheme refused earlier this year for proposing both a home and a short-term let, without showing the existing use was no longer viable, while increasing nitrogen discharges and lacking a Green Infrastructure Statement.
A supporting statement accompanying the latest application, supported by Narberth Town Council, said the studio was formerly a successful architectural practice run by Mr Morgan, who has since retired, before he decided to sell the good will to a former staff member.
The statement said the new owner now runs the practice from home in Crymych, meaning there was “no justification for viewing Little Greenway as an employment centre,” adding: “Nor do the applicants wish to see a new office-based activity being available within the grounds of their home.”
It said the applicants’ revised intention is to operate the studio/annex as a long-term let which involves limited management while providing a source of income as well as an additional unit of accommodation within Narberth.
It said, compared with the previous studio use with up to five people present, and the previous two-bedroomed proposal, the current scheme, which includes a green infrastructure statement, would reduce the discharges into the local sewerage network.
It stressed the favouring of a long-term let over previous short-term proposals, following Mr Morgan retiring at the age of 79: “As retirees my wife and I prefer to let the property to a young couple on a long let rather than having regular holiday letting changeovers every week”.
It concluded: “Whilst the studio and annex provided a workplace for up to seven employees, increasing use of computer aided design, the impact of Covid and a desire by Mr Morgan to retire led to the applicant selling his practice to a former employee.
“As a result, the studio / annex can no longer be seen as an opportunity for another office-based enterprise, nor do the owners wish to see such an activity within the curtilage of Little Greenway with the attendant increase in visitors.”
Pembrokeshire planners approved the application with conditions.
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