Background Parker Planning Services are pleased to have achieved consent for a barn conversion to residential use following a previous Class Q application submitted by another practice was refused.
The Proposal Prior notification for the change of use from agricultural outbuilding to a single residential dwelling.
Our Advice
Prior approval is described as a ‘light-touch process which applies where the principle of the development has already been established’. We therefore argued that a change of use under Class Q will help meet the Government’s clear requirements by reusing an underused agricultural building while increasing rural housing without having to build in the countryside.
The previous application submitted by another consultancy was refused on the basis that ‘the application site hosted a listed building’. The amended Prior Notification application addressed the heritage aspects associated with the previous application. It was argued that the agricultural building is not a Listed Building or that it is Curtilage Listed by virtue of the Farmhouse which is a Grade II Listed Building. In addition, the revised site location plan did not include the Listed Building and therefore altered how the Council could assess the Prior Notification application.
We demonstrated that the change of use and conversion of the existing barn and associated curtilage conforms to the provisions of the GPDO 2015 (as amended) and the prior approval of the local planning authority is either not required for the permitted change of use from agricultural to residential use (Class C3) to be undertaken, or should be given, with any relevant planning conditions. As a result, permission was granted.