Policy information sourced from the Maidstone Borough Council Local Plan 2021-2038
LPRCD3: Accommodation for Rural Workers.
1. Proposals to site a caravan or other form of temporary housing accommodation for a rural worker outside of the settlement boundaries as defined on the Policies Map which meet the following criteria will be permitted:
- a. The dwelling and its siting are essential for the efficient development and running of the enterprise there;
- b. The need is for accommodation for a full-time worker;
- c. There is clear evidence, such as a business plan, that the enterprise has been planned on a sound financial basis and that there is a firm intention and ability to develop it;
- d. No other housing accommodation is already available locally to meet the need;
- e. The necessary accommodation cannot be provided by the conversion of a building on the holding; and
- f. The necessary accommodation would be sited with any farmstead or other group of rural buildings on the holding.
2. Where a temporary planning permission is granted for a dwelling, the council will:
- a. Limit the permission to a term of no more than 3 years;
- b. Limit the occupation of the accommodation to a person solely or mainly working, or last working in the locality in a rural occupation, or a widow or widower of such a person and to any resident dependents;
- c. Require the removal of the temporary accommodation within 3 months after the expiry of the permission; and
- d. Require the restoration of the site within 12 months after the expiry of the permission in accordance with a scheme agreed with the local planning authority unless a permission is granted for a permanent dwelling there.
3. Proposals for a new permanent rural occupation dwelling in the countryside outside defined settlement boundaries in support of existing rural activities on well-established units which meet the following criteria will be permitted:
- a. There is a clearly established existing functional need for the dwelling;
- b. The need relates to a full-time worker or one who is primarily employed in agriculture and does not relate to a part time requirement;
- c. The unit and the activity have been established for at least 3 years, have been profitable for at least one of them, are currently financially sound, and have a clear prospect of remaining so;
- d. The functional need could not be fulfilled by another dwelling on the unit, or any other existing accommodation in the area which is suitable and available for occupation by the worker(s) concerned; and
- e. The new dwelling is no larger in size than is justified by the needs of the enterprise or more expensive to construct than the income of the enterprise can sustain.
4. The council will limit the occupation of any dwelling to a person solely or mainly working, or last working, in the locality in a rural occupation, or a widow/widower of such a person, and to any resident dependents.
5. In addition to the above criteria, account should be taken of the Kent Farmsteads Guidance and the Kent Downs National Landscape Farmstead Guidance.
For more information, please visit Maidstone’s Local Plan Maidstone Borough Council Local Plan 2021-2038