Tipperary agri company refused permission to retain premises after enforcement action
A Tipperary agricultural company has been refused planning permission to retain a retail operation and other changes at its premises after the site became the subject of enforcement action by the council.
PSD Agri Trading Limited applied to Tipperary County Council for planning permission to widen a site entrance, as well as retention permission for two animal feed silos, extensions to existing sheds, the change of use to retail of the lands, office and warehouses and associated storage at their site in Colman, Fethard.
They also applied to retain the use of the yard for open storage of materials for sale, the erection of signage and a front boundary wall.
According to planning files, the site had been the subject of an enforcement notice by the council, who ruled that the company were to cease retail operations at the site by July 8 of this year.
An agent acting on behalf of the company said there is an established and a “long-standing” use of the site as a retail operation, and this should be taken into consideration by planners.
“The site has been functioning as a retail premises for at least the past seventeen years, as evidenced by historical Google Street View imagery and the long-standing presence of retail activities on the site,” the agent said.
“The operation of a retail facility has integrated into the surrounding rural area without giving rise to significant planning, traffic, environmental or amenity concerns.
“The application therefore seeks to regularise and retain a use that has been operating successfully and continuously for a considerable period,” they added.
The agent added that PSD Agri’s location is “intrinsically” linked to the nature of the business, as farmers need convenient access to feed, fertiliser, animal health products, agricultural supplies, and other farming essentials.
“Unlike conventional comparison retailing, the business serves a specialised agricultural market and relies upon accessibility for farm vehicles, trailers and commercial deliveries. The location enables the business to operate effectively while remaining close to its customer base,” the agent added.
The planning enforcement team ruled that the company stop using office on the site as a shop, remove the silos, stop using the site for warehousing of products, stop using the yard for additional storage, remove goods for display, and remove the signage by July this year.
However, planners rejected the company’s argument that the retail use had been long established, finding that any previous use of the site for retail purposes had been “unauthorised and intermittent”.
Planners said that the use as a co-op type shop would be “contrary to the retail hierarchy and policies set out under the County Development Plan”.
While the silos and shed don’t negatively impact on neighbouring dwellings enough to warrant a refusal, the planners said that because the buildings are to facilitate an unauthorised use of the land, they should be refused anyway.
“The retention of the subject structures would facilitate an unauthorised use and, would if permitted, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area and set an undesirable precedent for other such similar development,” planners said.