A BLACKSMITH and smallholder who makes Western-style prairie wagons and lives in a caravan in a field has blasted planners for “failing to support farmers.”

Lizzie Whyte, of Wild Oak Farm, Little London, Longhope, wanted to put up a ‘bat-friendly pole barn’ to store agricultural equipment and hay for her beef cattle and sheep business.

But after being told it wasn’t “permitted development” on the nine-acre site and she needed full planning permission, she told planners: “I’m sorry the Forest of Dean Council doesn’t support farmers. I will be appealing… I will still need to store 900 bales of hay for winter feed for my livestock on my land at Wild Oak Farm.

“I would have thought a bat-friendly pole barn would indeed be much better than bales covered in blue tarpaulin!”

Neighbour Helen Gabriel objected to the scheme, claiming the blacksmith was running ‘Lizzy the Smithy’ blacksmith courses there.

She also said there was “an eviction order against her to remove the caravan from the land” – something Mrs Whyte said she had no knowledge of.

Forest planners ruled the size of the landholding was below the required five-hectare size for permitted development, while the barn could also affect long-eared horseshoe bats which lived nearby.