News
Staff Member
You can now convert farm buildings to houses under new permitted development rights in England from 6th April 2014
The General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) is the same legislation that lets you put up a farm building without full planning permission. Last year the Government extended these rights to allow offices to be converted to residential and farm buildings to be converted to a range of commercial uses. NOW, the Government have decided that from 6th April 2014 you can change a farm building to a residential dwelling, in fact you can have up to three! There are obviously lots of details and lots of things to consider with a project like this. I would always seek professional advice, not only for the planning advice, but speak to your accountant about the new asset / income stream and your business and family planning as a whole….
This is applicable in England only!
What you need to know if you want to change a building from ag use to resi:
· The site needs to solely for an agricultural use, as part of an established agricultural unit on 20th March 2013
· You can change the use of existing agricultural buildings and land within their curtilage FOR UP TO 3 dwellings
· The permitted rights also include the building operations reasonably needed for the conversion- this only includes- windows, roofs or external walls; and services (water, gas electricity, drainage) and partial demolition
· 450m2 is the MAX area of buildings that can be converted
· The new building can’t be bigger than the footprint of the original building
· You will need to get prior approval for: location and siting; design and external appearance; transport and highways; noise; contaminated land; and flood risk.
You can’t use this IF:
· You don’t live in England
· You have a listed building or
· Your building is in a National Park, AONBs, conservation areas, World Heritage Sites and The Broads, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), a safety hazard area or on a military explosives storage area
· Your building is on a scheduled monument
There are other things to consider:
· Obviously there are more complicated areas that need to be considered as each situation is different. For example, if you are a tenant you will need to consider your tenancy position and discuss the development with your landlord- there have been provisions made about these situations…
· There are no specifics about redundant or under used buildings, the text only talks about ag buildings
· We don’t know whether there will be a time limit on these rights / change of gov’t change of planning legislation?
· If you have applied under GPDO to erect a new agricultural building in the past year then the right to use the new change of use is lost for 10 years
· Contrariwise, if you use the new rights then the existing rights to erect new farm buildings will be lost for 10 years
Opportunities for your business
· Opportunity to get workers / family members dwellings without having to prove an agricultural need for the property
· Lump sum income from the sale of one of the properties
· Monthly income from a let house
If you would like any help or would simply like to discuss these new rights, do get in touch!
Jude
About the author:
TFF member @blondeagadvisor will be a regular blog contributor majoring on business matters and other areas of interest, she works for Berrys in Kettering, Northamptonshire
@blondeagadvisorhttp://blondeagadvisor.wordpress.com/
[email protected]
http://www.berrybros.com/
The General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) is the same legislation that lets you put up a farm building without full planning permission. Last year the Government extended these rights to allow offices to be converted to residential and farm buildings to be converted to a range of commercial uses. NOW, the Government have decided that from 6th April 2014 you can change a farm building to a residential dwelling, in fact you can have up to three! There are obviously lots of details and lots of things to consider with a project like this. I would always seek professional advice, not only for the planning advice, but speak to your accountant about the new asset / income stream and your business and family planning as a whole….
This is applicable in England only!
What you need to know if you want to change a building from ag use to resi:
· The site needs to solely for an agricultural use, as part of an established agricultural unit on 20th March 2013
· You can change the use of existing agricultural buildings and land within their curtilage FOR UP TO 3 dwellings
· The permitted rights also include the building operations reasonably needed for the conversion- this only includes- windows, roofs or external walls; and services (water, gas electricity, drainage) and partial demolition
· 450m2 is the MAX area of buildings that can be converted
· The new building can’t be bigger than the footprint of the original building
· You will need to get prior approval for: location and siting; design and external appearance; transport and highways; noise; contaminated land; and flood risk.
You can’t use this IF:
· You don’t live in England
· You have a listed building or
· Your building is in a National Park, AONBs, conservation areas, World Heritage Sites and The Broads, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), a safety hazard area or on a military explosives storage area
· Your building is on a scheduled monument
There are other things to consider:
· Obviously there are more complicated areas that need to be considered as each situation is different. For example, if you are a tenant you will need to consider your tenancy position and discuss the development with your landlord- there have been provisions made about these situations…
· There are no specifics about redundant or under used buildings, the text only talks about ag buildings
· We don’t know whether there will be a time limit on these rights / change of gov’t change of planning legislation?
· If you have applied under GPDO to erect a new agricultural building in the past year then the right to use the new change of use is lost for 10 years
· Contrariwise, if you use the new rights then the existing rights to erect new farm buildings will be lost for 10 years
Opportunities for your business
· Opportunity to get workers / family members dwellings without having to prove an agricultural need for the property
· Lump sum income from the sale of one of the properties
· Monthly income from a let house
If you would like any help or would simply like to discuss these new rights, do get in touch!
Jude
About the author:
TFF member @blondeagadvisor will be a regular blog contributor majoring on business matters and other areas of interest, she works for Berrys in Kettering, Northamptonshire
@blondeagadvisorhttp://blondeagadvisor.wordpress.com/
[email protected]
http://www.berrybros.com/
