Does a Folly in the High Weald AONB deserve to get a Planning Consent?

To be asked to design a traditional Folly in the twenty-first century is probably not all the common! It was a lovely commission to receive, but what does it mean in practice? For instance, the use of a Folly, if there is one, is sensate, which cannot be categorised by a use class and will not comply with policy in relation to buildings in the countryside?

Fortunately, the client had a sensate and actual use in mind with an overall purpose of celebration. The sensate is in celebrating the views in the landscape, and the actual, which is more relevant to current planning policy, is in providing the setting for the celebration of marriage, as an additional facility for the recently renovated stable block into a Wedding Venue.

So far so good. A design was developed to match the client’s wish for a traditional building, to create a suitable backcloth for wedding ceremonies and create a folly in celebration of the views to both the North and South Downs in the true tradition of Romantic Architecture and Landscape. From our perspective, follies are designed to enhance and enliven the surrounding landscape, creating visual interest, and allowing the imagination to run wild. On this basis, we thought it should be considered an enhancement to the current environment. In addition, having designed and constructed a “Country House” within the Estate, we viewed its surroundings as Parkland rather than agricultural land.

However, the Conservation Officer see it rather differently. Although it is considered that there is scope in principle for a folly building within the grounds, the location is too prominent – and would appear as an alien and incongruous intrusion within the open, rural, and naturally contoured landscape, ignoring the change from agriculture use to parkland. It should be less visible to a listed 17th-century cottage in the vicinity.

Unfortunately, Follies are designed to be visible and we are in danger, assuming we can even get a consent, of it being less visible and in a position where celebration of both views simultaneously will not be possible. Watch this space for where these deliberations take us.