The Chairman introduced the final application of the evening, application number 143099, for change of use from a sports pavilion to therapy centre at South Kelsey Cricket Club, Caistor Road, Holton Le Moor. The Committee heard from the Planning Officer that Ward Member Councillor T. Regis had wished to lodge his approval and support for the application and had submitted the following statement: “I appreciate Caistor Cricket Club’s opinion as a duty to Sport England however the reality is that the field is no longer used for anything other than left fallow and will remain so. This application will enable a use again for this area and will help to support WLDC in our plight to continuously grow the economy.”

The Chairman noted there was one registered speaker and invited Mr Richard Alderson to address the Committee. Mr Alderson made the following statement.

“Good evening Chair and members of the planning committee. My name is Richard Alderson and I am the agent for the applicant, Gail Hyman. The application which is recommended for approval is for the change of use of a disused cricket pavilion and grounds at Holton le Moor to an indoor and outdoor therapy centre to provide counselling and therapy services to children, young people and adults. The site was selected by the applicant because it offered a private setting and a beautiful location eminently suitable for delivering therapeutic health to improve the mental health and general being within a rural community.

The applicant Gail Hyman current currently operates an online therapy service for vulnerable people from her home in Middle Rasen. Mrs. Hyman also works with young children at the Rainbow Preschool Nursery which is sited at Caistor Primary School where she is the manager. This follows 20 years of experience working in childcare, often involving working with children requiring support for additional needs. Mrs. Hyman was given the opportunity to take the tenancy of an area of land atop the moor, which was formerly the Lysaghts Sports Club Cricket Club pavilion and field. The tenancy also includes part of the adjoining woodland to the northwest of the pavilion as you saw on the map.

The application attracted a lot of interest and support from local people, as well as general observations from others. When the application was first mooted in a pre-application, the case officer raised various hurdles to be overcome if the proposal were to have any chance of approval. All of these points have been addressed to the satisfaction of the case officer. Outstanding issues for him came down to highways and the change of use of a community facility. The Highways objections were overcome by changing the site access from a potentially dangerous location to one that represents no hazard to the highway. A planning condition requiring a traffic management plan to request all visitors to the centre to use the entrance and access as shown in the application plans is suggested by the Planning Officer.

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