On 30 April 2024, the government made The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development etc.) (England) (Amendment) Order 2024, and the changes included come into effect on 21 May 2024, and make a number of changes to permitted development rights.
The headlines are:
Part 6: General Agricultural PD rights allowances
Class R: Changes of use of agricultural buildings to flexible commercial uses;
Class Q: Conversions of agricultural buildings to dwellings
Part 6: Traditional Agricultural PD Rights
Once again, depending on the size of the holding. The area allowance has been increased as follows:
Changes on agricultural units of 5 hectares or more
the ground area which may be covered by any building under PD rights is increased from 1,000 sqm to 1,500 sqm.The ability to erect new buildings and extensions on a site that is or is within the curtilage of a scheduled monument has been removed.
Changes on agricultural units of less than 5 hectares
the limit on the maximum cubic content by which a building may be increased under these PD rights has been raised from 20% to 25%.
the limit on the ground area of any building extended under these PD rights has increased from 1,000 square metres to 1,250 square metres.
the ability to extend a building on a site that is or is within the curtilage of a scheduled monument has been removed;
Changes to Class Q: “Barn Conversions”
The Order completely replaces Class Q of the GDPO.
The revised version of Class Q permits the conversion of the following to a dwellinghouse:
a building that is part of an established agricultural unit and any land within that building’s curtilage, or
a former agricultural building that was (but is no longer) part of an established agricultural unit and any land within that building’s curtilage,
Along with:
the extension of the building being converted; and
building operations reasonably necessary to convert the building to a residential use or to extend the building.
This is limited to allow a maximum of 10 dwellings to be delivered and/or 1,000 sqm of floorspace to change use. The previous rules relating to larger and smaller houses are also being replaced by a maximum permitted floorspace of 150 sqm per dwelling.
The allowance to extend the building as part of the conversion is limited to a “a single storey rear extension that does not extend beyond the rear wall of the existing building by more than 4 metres and is on land covered by an existing hard surface”.
There are some additional requirements under the revised Class Q with restrictions including:
A new prior approval requirement for conversions that include extensions which relates to “the impact of the proposed extension on the amenity of any adjoining premises”.
confirmation that a building does not qualify for Class Q rights if it is not large enough to be able to comply with the nationally described space standard prior to its conversion; and
confirmation that a building does not qualify for Class Q rights if it does not have suitable existing access to a public highway.
There are some amendments to the procedure for Class Q because of the above.
Changes to Class R: “Farm Diversification”
We also have a number of changes to Class R, which permits agricultural buildings to change to a ‘flexible commercial use’.
The most important of which is an increase in the floor area that can change use from 500 sqm to 1,000 sqm.Also included in the changes are a wider range of uses being permitted. The uses now include general industrial purposes, the provision of agricultural training, and use for outdoor sports or recreation.
If you want any further information on the changes and how they could be used to help grow or diversify your business, please get in touch and we will see what can be done for you.
