A DAIRY farm will be allowed to keep its car park lights on in the evenings following a row over bollards.
Worcester City Council’s planning committee eventually approved a ‘controversial’ request by Manor Farm off Malvern Road in Worcester to light six low-level illuminated bollards until 10pm.
The approved bid by the farm’s Bennett family will help light the way to one of the site’s car parks in the evenings.
Whilst still a working dairy farm, the site has grown in recent years and now includes a pub and restaurant, glamping site, nursery, wedding venue and ice cream factory.
A decision was made by the planning committee at the request of ward councillor Alan Amos who said the farm had a history of “unauthorised working, enforcement action, retrospective applications and consistent complaints from residents.”
Cllr Jo Hodges said she could no “sound” reason why the request should be refused by the planning committee and was “very concerned” that somebody would hurt themselves if they ordered the lights to be turned off.
“We are talking about low level bollards and the light will be pointing down,” she told the planning committee at the meeting in the Guildhall on Thursday (March 24).
Cllr Hodges said the light from the bollards would be no different to having a motion sensor light on your house.
Following a previous decision by the council’s planning committee, the six bollards could not be turned on after 7pm in the evening during the week and not at all on weekends or Bank Holidays.
Cllr Amos, who had his call to have the plan rejected refused during a vote, said the request to turn the lights on after 7pm and on weekends was “pretty significant” for neighbours.
Cllr Jenny Barnes said the previous restriction on lighting was put in place for a good reason and with ‘neighbours and wildlife still there’ should remain in place.
A related but separate request by the farm to allow the nursery to be open from 6.30am to 10pm to ‘community groups’ was deferred by the council’s planning committee at the same meeting due to a lack of information on how the building would be used differently in the evenings.