Plans for equine complex near Brecon approved by councillors

A senior member of Powys County Council’s staff has had plans for a stables and arena complex near Brecon approved by councillors.

At a planning committee meeting on Thursday, July 1, councillors looked at the application submitted by Emma Palmer, the council’s head of transformation.

Ms Palmer applied for to build a new shed, an outside arena known as a “ménage,” stables and new access at land between the villages of Llanfilo and Tredomen near Brecon.

Before the application was discussed Cllr Roger Williams, declared a prejudicial interest in the application and would leave the meeting while the application is discussed.

Cllr Williams said that Ms Palmer is a neighbour.

“She uses a neighbouring farm as a livery for her horses and the proposed new access comes out opposite to land owned by me and my wife,” said Cllr Williams.

The field is already used for the grazing of sheep and horses and there are already two existing mobile field shelters.

The menage would be used to exercise the horses, this is a non-agricultural use which requires a change of use application.

Senior planning officer, Lorraine Jenkin said: “Because there are already horses there, what we are doing is managing the site better.

“All in all, we’re happy that this site will be improved in ecological biodiversity terms.

“We are going to put in a condition that it remains of domestic scale and should not be for commercial use at all because of the impact on the dwelling opposite.

“Also, highways would have had concerns if it were a commercial venture with more traffic turning up,”

She recommended approving the plan.

Cllr Linda Corfield said: “This just seem really a tidying up exercise making the site more purposeful and run more efficiently than what is already there.”

Cllr Corfield said that she was ready to propose approving the application.

The application was approved with 17 votes for and one abstention.