YourVets – Wythall, Birmingham

Extension to a building on Green Belt land

This site had a long planning history involving two other national planning consultancies for a much needed extension to a veterinary clinic located within the Green Belt. It had been refused on a number of occasions and dismissed at appeal. A more recent refusal in May 2010 led to yet another rethink about the grounds cited for refusing the proposal. The planning officer believed that the very special circumstances had not been demonstrated and therefore he would not support the scheme.

Situ8 submitted an additional statement linking the proposed floor space to the legal and statutory requirements pertaining to such a business and then we ensured that the manager of the practice attended the parish council meeting. Following this, a member of the planning committee called the application into committee and a site visit was arranged for the members to view the current state of the clinic. The planning committee was a triumph: 7 councillors spoke in favour of the proposal and we won hands down, with the entire committee voting against the recommendation for refusal from the planning officer. We received an apology from one of the members that we had been put through too many unnecessary hoops and that a successful business in the Green Belt should be supported.