Is ‘Permitted Development’ allowed?
Are you looking to rent out that disused barn as a
commercial unit. Do you need a new cow shed?
Perhaps you need an extra house on the farm for
your children. Well under the General Permitted
Development Order, getting permission to do
those things can be quite simple, so long as you
follow the right steps.
Changes have been introduced as the Government looks
to simplify planning across the board after twenty years
of amendments and add-ons which made the system
very complicated. The main changes affecting
landowners and farmers fall under the simplification of
the General Permitted Development Order:
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The system gives farmers a priority, and means
faster response times too.
The benefits of the previous system have been kept,
but go further to allow building conversions to
dwellings and for commercial use.
Changes to the law don’t give carte blanche though,
and the landowner and farmer must make sure that
they meet the requirements.
It isn’t a free for all, and in essence, you must prove
that the development is “permitted”.
The biggest stumbling block in terms of planning is
ensuring you are able to prove that there is farming
activity on the holding for which you are applying.
The above has tripped up many a landowner previously,
and has meant that their Permitted Development
consent has not been granted.
Many people assume that because the law is much more
relaxed for Permitted Development, that it will be easy
to qualify, and they get caught out. Farmers should pay
particular attention to the application stage because
getting it right first time will make the whole process
much quicker, easier and may prevent full planning
permission having to be sought. It is very important
to prove that the holding is being used for agricultural
purposes and agricultural appraisals and farm plans will
certainly be good evidence of this.
The Government has recently relaxed some
planning laws for landowners and farmers,
we take a look at this in detail.
We know every little detail that must be provided for the
new Permitted Development and can help you to prepare
the evidence you need to ensure that the road to having
your consent granted is a smooth one.
Providing all the evidence, and making sure that the
evidence meets the criteria is what will make sure your
consent is granted within the time limit. An application
can be refused simply on the basis of there being
insufficient evidence. We can make sure that all the right
boxes are ticked, and that each of those boxes have the
right evidence behind them.
We are experts in planning on agricultural
holdings, so if you’d like advice on what is
allowed within Permitted Development, if you’ve
been turned down before, want to start the
process from scratch or simply need to make sure
you have the right evidence together, then give
Julie Branfield a call today. Don’t be caught out by
box ticking. A little time now could save a lot of
time down the line.
Recent planning successes:
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Agricultural tie removals in Bromsgrove District Council, Tewkesbury Borough
Council, Wychavon District Council, Cotswold District Council and
Herefordshire County Council.
Agricultural building in Malvern Hills District Council, Wiltshire Council and
Stroud District Council.
Barn conversion to light industrial use in Tewkesbury Borough Council.
Barn conversion to dwelling in Wychavon District Council, Cotswold District
Council and Stroud District Council.