National Park Rejects Proposal to Convert Agricultural Buildings to Commercial Use at Pembrokeshire Farm Site

A call to allow agricultural buildings at a north Pembrokeshire farm site to be used as commercial buildings has been turned down by the national park.
In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Ben Phillips, through agent Irvine Johnston sought permission for a change of use and subdivision of former agricultural buildings to a commercial use at Sychpant, Felindre Farchog.
The application was a resubmission of a 2025 application, which was withdrawn to allow further information to be provided, and included three business/storage and distribution units and two office units.
An officer report recommending refusal said: “The application site is part of a wider complex which comprises the original farmhouse, a holiday let barn conversion, two-storey old milking parlour and newer large portal framed buildings extending to the east and northeast. The three-bedroom barn conversion dwelling known as Sychpant Barn shares the application site entrance.”
It went on to say: “A planning statement does not support the current application however the statement supporting the recent withdrawn application states that Sychpant historically ran a dairy operation however this function has now ceased and the owner currently operates sheep and cattle stock in addition to the holiday let accommodation of Sychpant Barn.”
Of the proposals, it said: “The principle of re-using rural buildings for employment and farm diversification purposes is supported by national and local planning policy where the development is appropriate in scale, compatible with its countryside location, and assists in sustaining the agricultural unit.
“However, insufficient information has been submitted to demonstrate that the proposed commercial activity would remain ancillary to, and supportive of, the agricultural enterprise.
“In particular, no comprehensive farm plan has been provided, the submitted financial information does not account for the existing holiday-let income, and the proposed conversion of further agricultural buildings would result in a significant proportion of the site being used for non-agricultural purposes.
“The site is also considered to be in an unsustainable location, with limited public transport provision, poor pedestrian accessibility and outstanding highways information relating to trip generation, speed survey data and visibility splays.”
The application was refused on the grounds outlined in the officer report. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​