Press
Media coverage of our campaign to
save Rame Head from development:
Plans for house at Rame turned down by council
“A proposal to build a new house that divided a community and led to a costly High Court case has been refused at a planning committee this week.
Farmer Chris Wilton started summer 2020 as chair of Maker with Rame Parish Council and with a planning application in for an agricultural worker’s dwelling on land he owns near Rame Head - and close to the tenanted land his family has farmed for 200 years.
In August, the plan was approved by Cornwall Council’s East planning committee in the face of a recommendation of refusal by senior planning officers. By May 2021, a local campaign against the new building had gathered enough momentum to bring a £50k Judicial Review which quashed the result, as well as indirectly sweeping most of the parish council out of their seats, including Chris Wilton himself.”
Rame Head AONB planning application finally rejected by 5 votes to 4
“Controversial proposals for a large detached house in the Rame Head Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty have been refused permission by Cornwall Council.
The east area planning committee today voted 5 - 4 to agree with the recommendation of their professional advisors that an application by local farmer Chris Wilton should be rejected. One councillor abstained.
Planning officers said that the application would “result in a prominent and incongruous addition to the coastal plateau that will harm the landscape and distinctive scenic beauty of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Heritage Coast. The social and economic benefits of the development do not outweigh the landscape harm.”
Farmer's plans to build controversial home on Rame Head beauty spot rejected
“The application went before the council’s east sub-area planning committee this morning for the second time.
Last summer it was approved by the committee, against officers’ recommendations, but that decision was quashed by a High Court judge earlier this year after local campaigners secured a judicial review against the council’s decision.
The decision to quash the planning permission was based largely on the fact that the planning committee had not provided sufficient reasons for their decision and had not been clear about why they had gone against the judgement of planning officers.”
New farm house in Cornwall at Rame Head decision post High Court
“A farmer who saw his plans to build a new home for his family at a Cornish beauty spot go to the High Court has lost his latest bid to build the property”
“Mr Wilton also said that the new home would be no higher than the nearby Rame cottages and claimed it would not have an impact on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
However Cornwall Council planning officers disagreed and recommended that the plans should be refused because they would have a detrimental impact on the AONB which is one of the highest protections for land.”
Parish council opposes plans
“Councillors on the Rame Peninsula have upended their predecessors’ stance and voted to object to a high-profile planning application in their parish.
The proposal by farmer Chris Wilton for an agricultural dwelling close to Rame Head was approved by Cornwall Council last year, but a judicial review mounted with £35,000 in crowd funding, quashed the local authority decision.
The East Cornwall planning committee will be asked to re-run the decision-making process, for the same original application, when it meets on July 12.
Parish council U-Turn on plan for large house in Rame Head Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
“The parish council at the centre of a fierce planning row in South East Cornwall has reversed its policy and will now object to proposals for a large detached house in the Rame Head Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Maker with Rame parish council – which saw dramatic changes at last month’s local elections – last night (Monday) voted 6 – 4 to lodge a formal objection to farmer Chris Wilton’s application.
This is a reversal of the parish council’s previous policy. Last year it supported Mr Wilton’s application. He had previously been chairman of the parish council but lost his seat last month.”
Councils to think again about controversial plans for large house in Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
“Parish councillors in South East Cornwall are to hold an emergency meeting next week to reconsider controversial plans for a large detached house in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Maker-with-Rame parish council - which has changed dramatically as a result of the 6th May elections - is to consider an application from its former chairman, local farmer Chris Wilton.
Last month a High Court judge quashed Cornwall Council’s approval of his plans. Mr Wilton was not successful in his attempted to get re-elected to the parish council, which in August 2020 had supported his application.”"
Rame House application to start again
“Since the result of the High Court hearing, Cornwall Council have decided to accept the result of the Judicial Review without appeal. The Rame Protection Group (RPG), who brought the case, have costs of about £46,000 and Cornwall council may have to pay for some or all of that. The council will have their own legal costs too.
The result of the Judicial Review means that the application will return to Cornwall Council’s Planning East Committee on 12th July and will be treated like any other application.”
Planning permission back to committee for Rame Head farmer
A farmer's planning permission for Rame Head is once again under scrutiny after months of controversy.
Chris Wilton was granted planning permission by Cornwall Council to build his new house on land at Rame Head last summer. However, a High Court judgement quashed Cornwall Council's planning approval in May. Now, Cornwall Council is set to put the decision before the East Sub Planning Committee.
Judge slams door on beauty spot homes
“A farmer’s plan to build a dream home on Cornwall’s coast has been thwarted by a High Court ruling that could help to protect other scenic areas.
Mrs Justice Tipples quashed Cornwall council’s decision to grant Chris Wilton planning permission for the home with 27 windows, up to six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a wraparound balcony and detached double garage”
Rame Head planning decision on 'iconic' coastal area quashed by High Court
“The High Court has struck down planning approval for a four-bedroom house in an "iconic" protected coastal area.
Cornwall Council had previously given the go ahead for the new build on Rame Head Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), despite its own planning officer recommending refusal”
Cornwall Council decision to grant permission for house on Rame Head quashed by High Court judge
“A judge has overturned a decision to allow a new house to be built on an area of protected land on the Cornish coastline.
Farmer Chris Wilton had planned to build a property in Rame Head, an area of outstanding natural beauty.
But campaigners opposed to the idea were granted a judicial review at the High Court, with supporters donating more than £30,000 towards the legal battle”
“Another Eye favorite turfed by voters”
was Chris Wilton, former chair of the Maker-with-Rame parish council in Cornwall, who told an elderly widow she was unlikely to get planning permission to build on a plot of land she owned on the beautiful Ramehead peninsula, only to buy it himself and win permission to build a blingy house that would be visible for miles”
High Court quashes bid for 'landmark' home at Cornish beauty spot
“The High Court found that the reasons for approving the home at the Rame Peninsula were not clear and went against the council's own policy.
An ambitious bid for a landmark new home in a protected beauty spot has been overturned by the High Court.
In August last year Cornwall Council’s east sub-area planning committee granted permission for a new home on the Rame Peninsula, going against planning officers’ recommendation to refuse permission”
Rame planning decision quashed by High Court
“A JUDICIAL Review has quashed a planning approval given by Cornwall Council at a controversial site within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
Farmer Chris Wilton was given permission to build a detached house near to Rame Head in August of last year on the basis that an agricultural worker’s dwelling was needed to enable he and his family to live close to the land they farm and manage.
But today, a High Court Judge has ruled that Cornwall Council did not provide adequate reasons for its decision, which went against the judgements of the Principal Planning Officer as well as the Planning Officer for the AONB”
An examination of the planning committee’s duties to give reasons when granting planning permission against officer recommendations
(Cross v Cornwall Council)
“"The judgment focuses on the planning committee’s duties to give reasons when approving a planning application, particularly where that approval is contrary to the planning case officer’s recommendation. The judge decided that this was a case where the planning committee was under a duty to give reasons for approving the planning application.”
Failure by council to give reasons sees judge quash planning permission for home in area of outstanding natural beauty
“"The High Court has quashed planning permission granted by Cornwall Council for a home in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty also designated as a heritage coast.
In Cross, R (On the Application Of) v Cornwall Council [2021] EWHC 1323 (Admin) Tipples J said it was well established that although there was no statutory duty on local planning authorities to give reasons for planning permission, in certain circumstances there was a common law duty to do so.”
Judge slams door on beauty spot homes
“"A farmer’s plan to build a dream home on Cornwall’s coast has been thwarted by a High Court ruling that could help to protect other scenic areas.
Mrs Justice Tipples quashed Cornwall council’s decision to grant Chris Wilton planning permission for the home with 27 windows, up to six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a wraparound balcony and detached double garage.
The Rame Protection Group, which challenged the approval of the home overlooking Whitsand Bay on Rame Head in the Cornwall area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), said the ruling would help to protect other AONBs across the country from similar development.”"
Judge quashes Council’s permission for house in Rame AONB
“The Honourable Mrs Justice Tipples has this morning handed down her judgment in the judicial review of Cornwall Council’s decision to grant planning approval for a large house by the coastguard cottages on Rame Head.
Planning approval had been given by Cornwall Council’s planning committee in August 2020 for a modern 4/6 bedroom house with a double garage on a green-field site at the heart of the iconic Rame Head”
Judge quashes Cornwall Council’s approval of large detached house in Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
“A High Court judge has quashed the Cornwall Council’s controversial approval of planning permission for a large detached house in Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Rame Peninsula.
Mrs Justice Tipples said Cornwall Council did not provide adequate reasons for its decision, which went against professional planning advice. The judge also ruled that the council had failed to properly interpret its own local plan”
High Court overturns council’s approval of a house in AONB over members’ failure to provide reasons
“The High Court has quashed Cornwall Council’s permission for a prominent new farmhouse on a protected stretch of coast after finding that members of its planning committee failed to provide any reasons why they rejected the advice of their planning officers”
Council rebuked
In a decision that could have implications for the country’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), the High Court has blocked a farmer from building a four-bedroom home on protected land in Cornwall.
The High Court tries to understand why Cornwall Council granted planning permission for a detached house in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
“Cornwall Council will have to wait to learn the outcome of a Judicial Review of the way it granted a single-vote majority approval of a highly controversial planning application in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”
Rotten Boroughs - Head to Head
“Various previous applications to build on the plot of just under an acre off remote Ramehead Lane were turned down over the years. In 2016 the then owner, Ivan Southworth, considered applying to build three small bungalows as a contribution to local “affordable housing”. But he dropped the idea after consultation with local councillors including Chris Wilton, chairman of Maker with Rame parish council, and vice-chairman John Shepherd, who both argued against it”
Planning permission row about Rame Head goes to high court
A group of campaigners battling against Cornwall Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a new home in a protected beauty spot will have their case heard in court next week.
The Rame Protection Group will have their judicial review considered by the High Court on Wednesday (Feb24).
Uproar at council chief’s beauty spot home
“Building a dream home with a wrap-around balcony affording stunning views of a gorgeous beach is not normally allowed in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ….More than 250 people who want to protect the wild beauty of the area, including a visitor from Canada, have donated a total of £11,000 to fund a legal challenge against Cornwall county council’s approval of the home”
The Times, 14th November 2020 - Print Ed.
Rame Head Court Fight Over Landmark Home
“A local council is being taken to court over plans to build a four-bedroom house on a protected stretch of coastline.
Approval for the two-storey house at the "spectacular" Rame Head Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) was a "terrible mistake," objectors claim.
Cornwall councillors voted to approve it despite the authority's planning officer recommending refusal.”
Outrage as local council chairman wins planning approval to build ‘£1 million’ six-bedroom home on protected-beauty spot overlooking beach in Cornwall
Conservationists are taking a parish council chairman to court over building a house in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Rame Protection Group are bringing a High Court challenge against Cornwall Council's decision to grant planning permission to Chris Wilton after he got permission to build on land close to Whitsand Bay near Plymouth, Cornwall.
Row over farmer's house plan at Rame beauty spot now going to High Court
“Campaigners are taking their objections to a controversial planning decision to allow a large house to be built in a beauty spot to the High Court”