Plan to build wellness retreat at farm near Worcester

Riverlands Farm, on the outskirts of the village of Brockamin, near Leigh and Bransford, wants to develop a small-scale outdoor retreat.

As well as diversifying the farm business, charities would be able to use the site for social wellbeing projects.

According to plans submitted to Malvern Hills District Council, the land in question is currently used as fishing lakes and forms a small part of the 96-acre farm.

The proposal is to use the existing fishing pools as an outdoor swimming facility.

Plans also include building a wooden bridge to an island in the lake, which would house a decking area with “lightweight timber cover”.

This would be used to host yoga classes, while walking, personal training and triathlon training could also take place at the retreat.

“The applicants have a genuine desire to build a place of calm, where people can swim or do yoga in peace and reflective surroundings,” the application states.

“To make it even calmer (and to provide a point of difference for commercial reasons) the applicants would like to utilise the island within the lake upon which visitors can do their yoga, completely surrounded by water.

“To enable visitors to use this all year round, it is proposed to put up a lightweight roof covering that is open on all sides but keeps the worst of the rain off - so yoga classes can still go ahead all year round and in the rain, but it retains its ethos and point of difference of being truly outdoors and wild.”

The application includes plans to redevelop a storage barn to create a “social and group space” that can also be used as “somewhere to warm up after swimming”.

The retreat would also feature a repurposed shipping container that would act as a reception area with a coffee machine and cold drinks, and a “mobile sauna unit” that could be moved around as needed.

Planning documents claim the impact of the retreat would be lower than the 60 pegs the fishing pools currently have permission for.