A scheme for a wellness retreat in north Pembrokeshire previously turned down by county planners has now been given the go-ahead in a smaller scale form.
In an application refused by Pembrokeshire County Council in July, Gayle Mcfarlane sought permission for the conversion and redevelopment of existing agricultural buildings and associated land at Trewallter Llwyd, Mathry to create a small-scale rural wellness retreat.
The scheme included yoga and wellness facilities, treatment rooms, a spa garden and stargazing domes.
The application site forms part of a former agricultural holding at Trewallter Farm, some 1.3km west of Mathry.
A supporting statement accompanying the retreat application said it sought “a high-quality, low-impact rural enterprise centred on wellbeing, nature connection and immersive dark skies experiences ‘Nightfall’,” adding: “The development will support sustainable rural tourism and is fundamentally shaped by — and reliant upon — the environmental qualities of its countryside location.”
It added:
“The scheme is conceived as a nature-led retreat, where landscape, tranquillity and environmental quality form the core of the visitor experience rather than a secondary backdrop.”
It said the scheme was part of a wider ‘Seren Dawel’ [silent star] retreat concept; initially focusing on a core wellness retreat and nightfall experiences.
The application was refused because it lacked “robust justification” demonstrating that the proposed use required a countryside location.
Since that refusal, an amended smaller scale scheme which includes the removal of the wellness domes, instead focussing on conversion of the existing building, was submitted.
The resubmitted application said the revised scheme focused “exclusively on the productive reuse of an existing agricultural building” for “a small-scale employment-generating wellness business incorporating yoga, therapy and wellbeing facilities”.
“The previous delegated report accepted that the proposed use represents an employment activity and that the existing building is capable of accommodating that use without extensive alteration. It also accepted that the associated works would not result in significant harm to the wider landscape setting.
“The revised proposal has been reduced further. The previously proposed wellness domes have been removed entirely. The development is now confined to the existing agricultural building, existing hardstanding and ancillary external works directly associated with the operation of that building.”
Planners approved the application, concluding: “The site is located in the countryside, where the proposal derives benefit from the tranquil rural setting of the site and the relationship with the surrounding natural environment forms an integral component of the wellbeing experience being offered.”
