Horse rider’s extension near Monmouth approved

An International showjumper who has represented Great Britain has been given approval for an extension to her farmhouse in Monmouthshire. 

Professional event rider Charlotte Agnew moved her business from Gloucestershire to Monmouthshire, where she has bought Llan Farm, around five miles from Monmouth, in 2022 to train her own and other horses for dressage competitions. 

She has already been given planning permission to convert an existing agricultural barn to a giant ‘American barn’ with 16 stables. 

Monmouthshire County Council has now approved plans to extend and modernise the farmhouse, which includes a flat roof extension with a layer of vegitation above it known as a “sedum roof” – which also meets the council’s biodiversity policy. 

A full drainage application will have to be made covering all permissions granted for the site and the option of water re-use for the equine development and the residential development will be considered. 

Restricted discharge to a stream 300 metres from the site, which is already in use, could be considered while surface water will be held on site in a large field to the south west. 

A detailed drainage strategy will be prepared that identifies surface water runoff will be captured at source into a series of sustainable drainage features, including swales, basins and permeable surfacing.