Glamping site plans get go-ahead from council

Test Valley Borough Council has approved a plan submitted by the owners of Manor Farm, in Broughton, to change the use of a walled garden to tourist accommodation comprising a yurt, shepherd’s hut and other amenities.

As previously reported in the Advertiser, the site would open from March to October, used for short-term stays, with the yurt able to accommodate up to six people and the shepherd’s hut up to four, making them suitable for families or small groups.

Guests would be asked to park in a field behind a barn and walk to the proposed accommodation, which would not be accessible to cars.

The application said creating a “more diverse income stream” for the farm is “crucial to its long-term survival”.

It added that the farm, Broughton Water Buffalo, operates “environmentally sensitive farming practices” making non-farming income important, partly because of the constraints imposed along the Wallop Brook, where modern farming practices are not possible because of the environment.

A statement from the owners of the farm, who have been farming and selling natural reared buffalo meat for 17 years, said: “The principal source of revenue for the business has been through the sale of grass-fed buffalo meat. The economic challenges of small-scale local production have been significant, and it is clear that the precarious political situation and the emerging (and necessary) trends in reducing meat consumption are only going to increase financial pressure on the business.”

Test Valley Borough Council approved the plans, with various conditions, including that full details of the yurt, shepherds hut and amenity building, including their size, design, materials used and location within the site are submitted and approved before being brought onto the site.

It also instructed no external lighting should be used within the area of the site, to “safeguard the amenities of the area in accordance with Test Valley Borough Revised Local Plan”.