To support existing business, encourage new enterprises and facilities which will enhance commercial effectiveness and employment opportunities. |
The main occupations of Holwell residents are centred on agriculture or on professional services, with a significant retired population. Of the 9 main working farms operating within Holwell, the largest are dairy farms, notably at Holwell Hill Farm on Pulham Road, at Lower Buckshaw Farm and at Woodbridge Farm. Sandhills Farm also has a dairy operation based in nearby Leigh and grows grass on its Holwell acreage as feed. There are also a number of beef farmers, the largest of which are on Pulham Road, and at Church View, a contracting business that rents additional land. Beef cattle are also farmed on some of the 7 smallholdings within the parish. Holwell’s main sheep farm is the Sherborne flock at Hill Street Farm, Stony Lane. A combination of sheep and beef is also farmed on a smaller scale at Holwell Manor and from Proctors Cottage, where heifers are reared on. In addition to farming their own land, many farms rent fields from other landowners within the parish as well as acquiring additional land in the parish or elsewhere to provide adequate grazing for existing cattle numbers or to enable expansion. This can occasionally lead to cattle being driven along Holwell’s roads from one grazing area to another. Farm traffic itself can be heavy, particularly at harvest time with tractors collecting and delivering grass, in addition to feed deliveries and milk collection. Most of these farms are family owned and run businesses, only employing non-family personnel when necessary on a part-time or seasonal basis from within the larger local community. There is some local employment in farm based industries such as Honeybuns gluten free cakes and Dorset Blue Vinney cheese and related products. Planning permission has been granted for the erection of a new building for use as a craft bakery with associated offices, but construction has not yet started.
Local employment opportunities are limited, and people looking for work will either work from home or commute to the nearby towns or further afield. Local residents have indicated that they would support small- scale businesses looking to set up in the parish. However this needs to be balanced against the impact of such development on the environment, local road network and the amenity of nearby residents.
There are no hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation in Holwell although these are available in nearby towns or villages with the most likely destination to stay being Sherborne. However, there is provision for glamping holidays at Honeybuns and for Yurt Holidays at Stock Gaylard which lies just outside the parish. These are relatively new businesses offering tourists the option to stay in Holwell through organisations with a strong rural sustainability focus which fits well with the local culture. There is also a spa and retreat operating from Middle Piccadilly.
The Local Plan does provide for a range of opportunities within rural areas for employment sites / workshops and built tourist accommodation, including sites within or on the edge of a settlement. However the Local Plan does not define the extent of the settlement of Holwell, and therefore the areas to which these policies might apply is unclear. Proximity to what might be considered the main area of settlement around Fosters Hill, would potentially preclude otherwise acceptable sites which, although potentially less accessible on foot, would still provide valuable employment opportunities more locally than travelling outside the area, and therefore locations that are well-related to existing buildings and the highway network are considered potentially appropriate. Where a proposal relates to the intensification or extension of existing premises or to support a business for which a rural location is essential, which is also allowed for under the Local Plan, it is important that any new premises should be well-related to existing buildings and the highway network, to avoid isolated development in the countryside. Farm diversification projects and the re-use an existing buildings are also supported. However it is important that any such development does not detract from the rural character of the countryside (for example by virtue of its size and prominence, or requirement for extensive lighting at night), or cause nuisance to neighbours.
Tourism attractions and facilities are covered in the Local Plan, which supports proposals that would increase the quality and diversity of the tourism offer in the local area (with built facilities to be located within or close to established settlements, or make use of existing or replacement building). Camping and caravan sites should be well located in relation to existing facilities or make appropriate provision for facilities on site and avoid significant adverse impact on the distinctive characteristics of the area’s landscape, heritage or built environment, and does not need to be duplicated in this Plan.
Although harm to the nearby European wildlife sites (at Rooksmoor and Holnest) are considered unlikely to arise from small-scale business development, an assessment of their impact may be required particularly where the nature of the proposed use would give rise to air pollution (including combustion processes) or require their own water supply. Further information on the impact risk zones can be found on http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx.
POLICY EB1: LOCATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT AND BUSINESS
New employment premises and built tourist accommodation should either:
and comprise sensitive, small-scale development that would not be intrusive in the landscape or cause harm to protected species or designated wildlife habitats. The development of new employment premises on sites that lie behind an established building line, such that they would comprise back land development, should be avoided unless the development comprises the intensification or extension of an established employment site and no alternative frontage sites are available.
Adverse social or environmental impacts that would clearly outweigh the potential economic benefits should be avoided, through:
Policy EB2 : CAMPING AND CARAVANNING SITES
New camping or caravanning sites to provide tourist accommodation should meet all of the following criteria:
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