THE man tasked with preserving Northumberland’s unique appearance is to fight his own officers as he takes his planning battle to appeal.
Chairman of Northumberland National Park, John Riddle, is locked in a dispute with Northumberland County Council over upgrades to his farm.
Mr Riddle, who has represented Bellingham on the council for 23 years, has been told outbuildings at his 150- year-old family farm are “heritage assets” and cannot be converted into housing.
But Mr Riddle, whose family has owned Blakelaw Farm near Bellingham, close to the boundary of the National Park, for four generations, is refusing to accept defeat.
“We have lodged an appeal,” he told The Journal. “And we hope to put a robust case. Although I believe we have a strong case, at the end of the day it will depend on the inspector.
“We have made written representations and now we have to consider whether we are going to put in a parallel application.” Mr Riddle and his wife Zaina want extra housing capacity for their family and see the old outbuildings on the 1,100-acre farm as ideal candidates for conversion.
They claim that many other similar applications have been granted across the county and say Area West Planning Committee councillors are being “ultra- cautious” because of his position.
