Farmer is likely to be denied permission to store 38 shipping containers in the village of Ampleforth in the North York Moors National Park Yorkshire News

Rancher and rancher Simon Dunn’s plan to create a secure L-shaped storage complex on Ampleforth High Street will be considered by the National Park Authority’s planning committee next week.

The application documents state that the development would be a major agricultural diversification for the business, particularly given the uncertainty facing agriculture after Brexit.

They state: “To survive and thrive in a challenging market, the Government has actively encouraged agribusinesses to seek ways to diversify and create sources of income that are not solely tied to agriculture.

“Some local farms have diversified into tourism, agricultural shops, etc. In an effort to diversify, Dunn has chosen to take a different approach and has built a self-storage business with a unique selling point: Customers like the safety and familiarity of storing their goods and belongings on a farm.

“Passive and active safety on a working farm is provided by a residential presence on site at all times.”

However, planning officials have poured cold water on the claims, saying that while there has been a national increase in the use of shipping containers for storage, there were already similar storage facilities in Pickering and Thirsk on the outskirts of the National Park.

Officials said those existing businesses could serve both urban and rural communities along the park’s southern edge, without encouraging additional car and truck travel on smaller roads in the park.

A report to the meeting says: “Officials consider that the use does not require a location within a national park and that they would be better located outside of a protected landscape.

“The functional steel designs of the units are not considered examples of good quality design envisaged by the policy for the establishment of new commercial uses in the field.

“In summary, while the facility would offer a local facility with some rural economic benefit, officials consider this type of ‘anywhere’ use not appropriate for an outdoor farm.

field in a protected landscape on the occasion of the industrialization of the locality and the rejection is recommended according to the development plan “.