A retrospective scheme for a holiday accommodation unit in the garden of a Pembrokeshire property in Templeton, submitted after discussions with the council’s enforcement department, has been given the go-ahead by planners.

Mr & Mrs Sutton of Oaklands, Templeton sought retrospective permission for the self-catered holiday unit on land adjacent to the A478 Boars Head Bridge to Junction C3065.

The holiday accommodation unit itself was built between 2021 and 2023, and has raised concerns from local community council Templeton on road safety concerns, with insufficient turning space on-site.

“This could result in vehicles having to reverse out onto the A478, a main road,” the community council has said, adding: “Drivers are likely to be non-locals, so unaware of the risks of this manoeuvre. This council considers that the application and site provide inadequate visibility and safe access for users.”

Agent A.D Architectural Design Consultants Ltd’s planning statement, commissioned “following correspondence from Pembrokeshire County Council’s enforcement department” said: “The rear field has been used as a residential garden since it was purchased by our client in August 2016 with the summer house construction beginning in July 2021. Originally the building was used as a summer house and was completed in June 2022. A kitchen and bathroom were installed in March 2023 and the letting of the unit began in June 2023.”

Citing similar applications which had been granted permission, the statement said: “The visual impact of this development is minimal due to its scale and causes no adverse issues to the highway network. The application holds strong similarities to other applications that the authority has sought to grant consent under the same policies and in our opinion, the proposal is considered to accord with the relevant policy of the Local Development Plan for Pembrokeshire.”

A report for Pembrokeshire County Council planners, recommending approval, said: “The development would provide new self-catering accommodation, resulting in positive social impacts through the increase in availability of varied accommodation in the local area and positive economic benefits through expenditure on building materials and on labour during constriction.”

It added: “The development is considered to comply with the requirements of the relevant policies of the Local Development Plan and retrospective planning permission be granted.”

The application was approved with conditions including it be used for holiday accommodation only.