PERMISSION has been given for a sustainable tourism business to operate on a family farm near Stogumber.

Several generations of Fiona Pascall’s family have lived and worked on the 137-acre Browpath Farm for more than 30 years.

Now, Ms Pascall can use a 3.7-are field for six glamping pods and associated infrastructure.

The business will supplement the off-grid farm, which has its own water, power, heating, and drainage.

A newly-planted woodland offered biodiversity, and retained water and sequestered carbon while also providing fuel and timber through sustainable long-term coppicing.

Food and enhanced biodiversity also came from practising agroforestry, with fruit and nut trees and perennial planting, a small flock of chickens, a vegetable cultivation area, and a large wildlife pond.

Planning agent Cerys Dehaini, of Squirrels Architecture, Roadwater, said the family ran a mixed system based around ‘nature and environmental recovery’ and production of high quality, low-input food, including meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables which were sold direct to local customers.

Several barns next to the glamping field had been converted into a sustainable home for the family.

Somerset Council planning officer Russell Williams said the glamping pods would be placed along the boundary of one corner of the field and each would have a double bedroom with a small shower room, living and kitchenette space.

They would have steep pitched roofs and were to be finished in timber cladding and glazing.

Stogumber parish councillors strongly supported the planning application, which they said was necessary for the farm’s long-term future.