A COUNTRYSIDE charity has called on county planners to make an urgent decision about an agricultural building and airstrip built in a remote part of the dale.
CPRE (formerly the Campaign to Protect Rural England) first raised complaints about the airstrip and building on Lartington High Moor, in February 2021, but no decision has yet been taken by county officers.
CPRE claims that if planners do not act swiftly the building will remain by default.
Property owner Peter Harle provided county planners with prior notification of his intent to build the barn in 2019, which they agreed did not need planning approval.
However, Mr Harle said he was told to apply for retrospective planning permission after he, on the advice of his farming tenant, decided to change the placement of the main entrance from its original northerly position, because it was facing into the winter weather.
CPRE said the county’s own officers say it caused “substantial harm to the landscape” and it lies within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and close to a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
However, Mr Harle, says the building is needed by his tenant, a sheep farmer, to store hay and equipment, as well as for his own conservation efforts, working in conjunction with Natural England, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the AONB.
The AONB is expected to be doing peatland restoration on the moor this winter.
Mr Harle said the barn will store wool for the restoration, as well as offer shelter to the AONB officers when the weather turns wintry.
Stephen Reed, planning development manager at Durham County Council, said: “We are aware of the relevant enforcement timescales applicable to this case. Following the submission of additional information and the receipt of consultation responses, we intend to determine the planning application shortly.”
