A Forest of Dean equine livery business established at a farm in 2020 faced having to saddle up when planners found the business had no planning permission.

David Awre, of Guy Hall Farm in Awre, began the business off Northington Lane, according to an application to Forest of Dean District Council, in September 2023.

Requesting retrospective change of use from agricultural to equestrian, planners were told Mr Awre was operating the business from a former hay barn and that eight stables were now evident, the units being in use for by horse owners paying for the service.

In a report from the site, planning officer Matthew Green said the stables had been created in 2020 within a 252 sqm sectioned from the hay barn. The equine business, with paddocks, related overall to 32,374 sqm at the farm.

He added: "The storage area has been used for the storage of horse transport boxes, which was previously used for storing the occasional farm equipment. The stables and equestrian land makes up approximately 3.24ha of the 121.4ha at Guy Hall Farm."

Commercial use of the land through equestrian use was found to be generating an additional income for the farm, he added.

Mr Awre, who shares his surname with the Severnside village close to his farm, submitted a design and access statement through agent Clive Hall of Your Design Bristol.

Mr Hall said: "The Land is situated in a dense area of farming land, mostly live stock and agricultural land with a live stock of around 700 sheep and around 70 cows over 300 acres. The stables that have been existing since early 2020 use approximately eight acres of the 300 acres, which equates to 2.6% of the entire farm."

A new access and some hedgerow had been removed for the scheme, the report said, but twice as much new hedgerow had been replanted in landscaping to mitigate the change.

Mr Green added that "the proposed equestrian use will involve the change of use of approximately 3.24ha of agricultural land, an existing stable building and storage area. Considering that the stable building and storage area will be seen in context with the existing farm complex the proposed change will not result in adverse harm on to the visual amenity of the area".

Planners considered the application in context with a series of previous bids from the address. Most notably, a project for prior approval to convert agricultural buildings into five homes at the farm was refused in March 2021 after a similar prior bid also failed. The applicant took the decision to appeal, but it was dismissed in October 2021.

In line with the officer's report, permission was granted for the business to remain.

● The latest Defra research on the popularity of horse riding and its agritourism potential estimated that 2.4m people now regularly take to the saddle. Equine insurers Equisure recently calculated grass livery can be expected to cost around of £20-£25 per week, while DIY stabled livery can be expected to cost roughly £30-£40 per week, with full livery extending from £100 to £150 per week.