A landowner has warned that a builder's yard could reappear in Ullenhall as a result of seeing his plans for a custom-built house rejected. 

Village resident John Clayton received backing for his proposal for a single house on Green Lanes, Ullenhall, from the parish council, six fellow residents and Stratford-on-Avon District Council ward member Cllr Ian Shenton.

However, planning professionals recommended refusal due to harm to the green belt and it being an unsuitable location, a position that received unanimous support from the district's planning committee.

Mr Clayton and his agent provided photos of what the site looked like when it was in use but planning officer Emma Booker's report offered "very limited weight" to the argument that such use, for which planning permission exists, would return as there are no permanent structures there and it has not been used for that purpose since 1999.

However, when asked what his fallback position for the land would be, Mr Clayton replied: "I think it leaves it open for me to offer it for rent.

"I retired just over 10 years ago and then I rented out the two units. Until then it was a builder's yard, although I did not utilise the rest of the land.

"However, because of a (permitted) use (that would bring in) rental income, I believe the fallback option would be to rent out this part of the land to become a builder's yard again.

"I think there would be plenty of takers for the opportunity to use about three quarters of an acre for industrial use. It is B1 so there is no reason it could not be used as builder's storage, hardstanding and storage right the way through."

Councillors were not convinced that need for housing on the outskirts of the village had been demonstrated sufficiently to outweigh the harm to the surrounding countryside.

Cllr Anne Parry said: "This is quite a complex application, it had full support from the parish and residents but the big thing for me is that it is open countryside and it is in the green belt.

"More importantly, what I am struggling with is the lack of evidence for the local need.

"If there had been a housing need survey that had identified this particular need, I would feel that, together with the self-build, it carried a lot of weight…despite being out of the main village, that would have given me more comfort to go the other way."

Cllr Stuart Keighley added: "I am not persuaded by the need for this self-build in this location.

"It is quite a long way from the settlement, there is no public footpath, it appears to me to be an isolated, rural site."

(Image by Stephen Craven via geograph.org.uk)