Somerset County Herald 28 Jul 1962 Nursery Firms Problem at Rowford Cheddon Fitpzaine Owners Green End Nursery Ltd Mr Arthur RANDALL Managing Director

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Somerset County Herald and Taunton Courier. Saturday 28 Jul 1962

Page 1 Column 1-3


Nursery firm's problem

Why it needs to sell a site

A NURSERY at Rowford, Cheddon Fitzpaine, has become increasingly unprofitable, and the owners, the Green End Nursery, Ltd., want to sell the site of about two acres for housing.

This was stated at a Ministry of Housing inquiry at Taunton, on Wednesday, when the company appealed against the refusal of the county planning authority to permit the development.

Mr. J. M. CLOSE, representing the nursery company, protested against the refusal and said the planning authority should 'adjust its bureaucratic outlook to the reality of the facts.'

Mr. CLOSE said the original application had been turned down because the planning authority said development in the hamlet should be restricted to 'very limited' infilling or to essential agriculture.

Residential development of the site, they say, would spoil the rural character of the hamlet. Moreover, the access to the site from the Taunton-Hestercombe road was unsuitable.

Mr. CLOSE said the number of dwellings proposed was not specified, but they did not think a limited amount of development would be objectionable.

The site had two large ranges of greenhouses, galvanized sheds, a bungalow, and three tall chimneys. Bungalows would be less conspicuous than the existing buildings, and would detract less from the character of the hamlet.

The present access was used by the inhabitants of a bungalow, by employees, oil-tankers, heavy lorries and cars.

To recoup losses

The nursery, like others in the county, was becoming uneconomical to run. To make the business more economic, the company needed at least one acre of glass, and to get this, they wanted another one and a quarter acres. They had tried unsuccessfully to buy adjoining land.

The position now was that they had either to sell the nursery as a going concern, or to sell the site for residential development to recoup their losses and raise finance to buy a more economic site and equip it.

The property had been on the market for many months, but only one offer had been received and that had been vague.

May have to close

'They can now either get planning permission and sell the land.' said Mr. CLOSE, 'or close down the nursery and let its buildings fall into ruin.

'If planning permission is refused, there will eventually be nothing left but the foundations and skeletons of the existing buildings, leaving a permanent scar on the land which then can be used for no profitable purpose.'

Mr. Arthur RANDALL (managing director of Green End Nursery, Ltd., said he had been a director of the firm since 1938.

Throughout the war running a nursery was a profitable business, but it had become increasingly unprofitable, and his co-directors were very perturbed about their present position.

If the appeal was not successful there was the possibility that business would cease on the site and the buildings would be allowed to decay.

They would market their crop and try to cover their expenses for this season, but they had no definite plans for the future if the appeal failed.

Council opposes

Mr. D. M. ROBINSON, senior planning officer, reiterated the authority's reasons for refusing the application, and added that Taunton Rural Council had recommended that it should be refused because access to the site was restricted, and because extensive development divorced from the local need was undesirable. The Highways Surveyor opposed the application because of the lack of visibility to and from the point of access.

Mr. H. R. MANSFIELD represented the planning authority.

After the inquiry, the Ministry Inspector, Mr. A. C. BOX, visited the site. The Minister's decision will be announced in due course.


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