WHEN did living and working in the countryside become no longer acceptable?

Within a few decades we seem to have gone from welcoming businesses to set up in rural areas to having planning laws which can make it almost impossible.

Two local cases in recent weeks have left me thinking: “what’s the problem with planning?”

In the first a family living on land they owned at Melplash were refused retrospective consent for the converted barn they live in - threatening their furniture-making and wood business which Dorset Council said would be better on an industrial estate.

At the last minute, when all seemed lost, a planning committee saw sense and allowed them to continue.

At that debate support for the family came from all political parties.

Said Conservative Cllr Louie O’Leary at the meeting: “My heart says what harm are these folks doing: they’re good people trying to earn a living in the way that they seek to. It’s what our forefathers in this county would have done.”

Lib Dem group leader on the council Nick Ireland, and now the Dorset Council leader, agreed the couple should be supported for their sustainable lifestyle – claiming that the case illustrated how out of date the Dorset Local Plan policies were.

“They are not taking advantage – this is low carbon, sustainable, off-grid. It’s ticking all the boxes we want and we should approve this,” he said.

More recently a smallholding owner with a handful of tents, alpacas and goats, near Puncknowle, was refused permission by a planning officer to live on the site. She claimed it as necessary for the welfare of the animals and the vulnerable children and adults who use the site.

Like the Melplash case she has hundreds of supporters, including local families and businesses, who all believe she should be allowed to stay.

The site, off Hazel Lane, can be hardly seen from the remote country lane it adjoins, causes no nuisance, is almost totally sustainable, is big on recycling and upcycling and plays an active part in the community, helping other rural businesses. As you might expect it grows its own vegetables and had re-wilded part of the site to benefit wildlife.

Users talk of the therapeutic value of its activities, which includes arts and crafts, or just being with the animals.

It might not be the lifestyle you or I would choose but its positives do seem to far outweigh any negatives; it does no harm and many argues actually does a lot of good.

Claire Ives, who runs the centre, was staggered when her planning application was turned down and believes Dorset Council simply failed to “get” what Flowerdew Farm is all about, and failed to treat it as an entire rural enterprise, focusing solely on the small herd of alpacas, which it was argued did not justify living on site.

A small group of supporters who I met at the farm all told stories of the positive experiences of the farm -  the transformation of a troubled teenage girl; support for a neurodivergent boy with many challenges in his life; to supporting and encouraging adults and children struggling with their mental health and the benefit from just being and volunteering there.

All spoke of it as being a “safe place” where everyone was welcome, without prejudice.

“I’m here, working from 7am until 11 or midnight, for me not to be on site could create safeguarding issues,” said Ms Ives, who argues that the bigger picture about the site’s activities should have been assessed by planning officers with knowledge of working with children and adults with additional needs.

She says the site is very eco-aware and largely off-grid with even the alpaca dung being used – turning it into “magic manure” for a local farm shop to sell.

Sarah Jones, from a local NHS mental health team which sends clients to the farm says just being on the land and in nature is calming for many: “What Claire does should be prescribed,” she said.

Rebecca Lawton, for the Rural Landworkers Alliance, says the UK needs to do all it could to encourage low-carbon ventures in the countryside, many of the sites not considered big enough, or economic, for what has become the norm in farming.

"If Dorset is to retain a vibrant rural economy, rather than becoming a dormitory for retired people, remote-workers and tourists, it is essential that a more holistic approach is take to housing associated with rural businesses, people who want to address climate and biodiversity change," she said.

Ms Ives is appealing against the Dorset Council planning refusal.