Empty Bracelands farmhouse near Coleford could become a heritage skills school

A farmhouse beside Bracelands campsite near Coleford, empty since the adventure centre it housed closed, could become a training school for lime plastering and other traditional building skills.

carringtonLIME Heritage Skills Training CIC, which runs courses from Mitcheldean, has applied to Forest of Dean District Council to change the use of Bracelands Farmhouse from an adventure centre to a heritage skills centre. The application was validated on 15 September 2026. The building belongs to Forestry England, and the planning statement includes a letter from Forestry England supporting the plan.

What would be taught

The planning statement lists the applicant's existing lime plastering, pointing and traditional repair courses, alongside dry stone walling, hedge laying, orchard management, window repair and the use of natural materials. The farmhouse would keep classroom and amenity space on the ground floor, with offices and staff rooms on the first floor. The barns and outside space would be used for practical work.

The operation would be small. Courses would run on weekdays only, one a day, with no more than nine learners and two core staff on site. Teaching would run from 10am to 4pm in summer and 9.30am to 3.30pm in winter. The application form says the centre would create three full-time jobs.

No building work is proposed beyond repairs. The 305 square metres of floorspace would all change use, and parking would be formalised at 18 spaces, down from 25, with six new cycle spaces. The transport note puts the worst case at 22 vehicle movements a day, all outside the morning and evening peaks.

A smaller plan than the one first discussed

The application is narrower than the scheme put to the council for pre-application advice. That earlier proposal also included purpose-built student accommodation and a shop, and the council's January 2026 response set out reservations about the student accommodation. The planning statement says neither forms part of this application.

The farmhouse was leased from the Forestry Commission and converted into an adventure centre in 1964 or 1965, according to the planning statement. The transport note says the upstairs once held 27 beds, including two large dormitories. The documents do not agree on when the centre stopped operating. The planning statement says the building has been vacant since April 2017, the council's pre-application letter says 2016, and Forestry England's letter, as summarised in the statement, says the site was last occupied in 2018.

They also disagree on the building's age. The planning statement describes a woodman's cottage built in 1712. The ecologist's report describes a brick-built building of about 1900, which matches Forestry England's 2023 marketing brochure.

According to the planning statement, Forestry England's marketing produced limited interest. The main alternatives were demolition for housing or another holiday accommodation use, and Forestry England did not consider either appropriate.

Bats in the chimney

Any work will need a licence from Natural England. The ecology surveys found a summer roost of up to nine lesser horseshoe bats using one of the chimneys to get in and out, with 62 re-entries recorded over 16 nights. Winter surveys found at least two hibernating in the building, including one in the ground floor fireplace that was probably there for the whole 46-day survey. The site lies near the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Bat Sites special area of conservation.

The council consulted English Bicknor Parish Council, ward councillors, its ecology team and county highways on 24 September. When checked on 29 September 2026 there were no public comments. The consultation period runs until 15 October and a decision is due by 10 November. See application P1086/26/FUL on PlanIndex.