Planning Applications, PD and the like (General Chat)

[George from SJM Planning]

Damn phone, I meant interaction!

Did you ever have a validation letter, a site visit, site notices? Anything? Have you checked the application online?

 

[S J H]

Damn phone, I meant interaction!

Did you ever have a validation letter, a site visit, site notices? Anything? Have you checked the application online?

Had the validation letter, notice and he turned up unannounced, asked my architect for a couple of weeks extra by phone just after the expiry date, then asked for a couple more last week when I phoned, I think the date was 17th April. He's still very vague in how long it will take, and I was under the impression that they needed to officially ask for extra time via letter?

 

[George from SJM Planning]

Had the validation letter, notice and he turned up unannounced, asked my architect for a couple of weeks extra by phone just after the expiry date, then asked for a couple more last week when I phoned, I think the date was 17th April. He's still very vague in how long it will take, and I was under the impression that they needed to officially ask for extra time via letter?

You or your architect should have been asked to put something in writing.
Has he given you any reason why they need more time? If not, find out who his line manager is and speak to them. They can't be allowed to drag on just because they are busy, I only sign extensions if I'm given a valid reason for the delay.

Unfortunately the situation won't help sway the decision in your favour.

 

[S J H]

You or your architect should have been asked to put something in writing.
Has he given you any reason why they need more time? If not, find out who his line manager is and speak to them. They can't be allowed to drag on just because they are busy, I only sign extensions if I'm given a valid reason for the delay.

Unfortunately the situation won't help sway the decision in your favour.

Thanks @GeorgieB82 he has said on both occasions that he'd send through a letter requesting an extension. He's blaming it on the cuts

I'll try and get hold of his boss tomorrow,

 

[George from SJM Planning]

Thanks @GeorgieB82 he has said on both occasions that he'd send through a letter requesting an extension. He's blaming it on the cuts

I'll try and get hold of his boss tomorrow,

Cuts or no cuts are no excuse for not getting a decision in 12 weeks!

 

[S J H]

Cuts or no cuts are no excuse for not getting a decision in 12 weeks!

Absolutely, I've had issues with the tw4t before, I just thought I had my hands tied. Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

 

[S J H]

I got hold of the service manager earlier, after a couple of phone calls. He spoke to the officer and he assures me we'll have a decision within 7 working days, thanks for your help @GeorgieB82 I'll put more pressure on them next time.

 

[Farmer mk1]

Hi folks.
I am a small contractor around the Sheffield and derby shire area. We are in green belt land. The place we operate from is at my grand parents as they have an acre and half garden with several old wooden sheds on which was full of chickens and a small workshop.
The question is we are wanting a big shed to keep our machinery in and possibly some livestock as a hobby etc. We are wanting to knock down the workshop which is 25'x25' and a greenhouse next to it which is 12'x25' and put a new building up in its place. We wanted to get this up and then extend it each year to gradually make the 75'x35' building which we want. We want the building up as we need some where to store expensive machines and do our own repairs.
We originally put the plans into the office as an agricultural building plan so the 28 day notice before work commences. They said we can't do that because the building is too big for the plot of land it is going on. But in the future we are buying the land next to us as it's the farms next door who we have known for generations and we do a lot of work for him for free and he said he is leaving it to us. We thought that if we put the new building on the original plot where the old workshop is and green house which is falling down, this would be ok as it isn't that safe any more.
They say to go through full planning but at over a £1000 and to more than likely get knocked back it seems abit of a waste.
Has anyone got any information on this for us?

 

[Greenbeast]

Georgie will respond probably but you'll need to own or rent 12.5ac to get Ag permitted development rights. Hypothetical land in the future means nothing really.

 

[Nearly]

But you're renting the land next door already aren't you?

 

[Farmer mk1]

We friend the "renting" procedure and got 40 acres in wiriting and sent that in with the planning notification and they still turned it down. We can't afford to keep our machinery outside in the winter. It costs too much to let go to waste but we don't have money to risk it being turned down. We thought put a building up on the already built on part of the field which I don't think they could stop you upgrading what is already there to make it safer and more secure and once it is up I think your allowed to extend it by 20% each year or so if you like.

 

[Forever Fendt]

We friend the "renting" procedure and got 40 acres in wiriting and sent that in with the planning notification and they still turned it down. We can't afford to keep our machinery outside in the winter. It costs too much to let go to waste but we don't have money to risk it being turned down. We thought put a building up on the already built on part of the field which I don't think they could stop you upgrading what is already there to make it safer and more secure and once it is up I think your allowed to extend it by 20% each year or so if you like.

you have a bit of a problem here as contracting is not classed as agriculture (you are not producing anything) and a prior notification can not be for animals so difficult to justify your need.myself i would put plans in for a hay barn enclosed on 3 sides only leave the front open and tell them you will be producing small bale hay to sell to farmers over the winter as there is a market for small amounts on local farms and at market they should not be able to argue this ,calculate how many bales per acre you would expect to get from the land you are now renting and work it out to give the size of the building required,make sure you get this correct as they will send it to a ag adviser for confirmation (remember you can adjust the height to suit the size you need) you will need a proper tenancy for a reasonable length of time make sure you get this done and correct

 

[George from SJM Planning]

you have a bit of a problem here as contracting is not classed as agriculture (you are not producing anything) and a prior notification can not be for animals so difficult to justify your need.myself i would put plans in for a hay barn enclosed on 3 sides only leave the front open and tell them you will be producing small bale hay to sell to farmers over the winter as there is a market for small amounts on local farms and at market they should not be able to argue this ,calculate how many bales per acre you would expect to get from the land you are now renting and work it out to give the size of the building required,make sure you get this correct as they will send it to a ag adviser for confirmation (remember you can adjust the height to suit the size you need) you will need a proper tenancy for a reasonable length of time make sure you get this done and correct

I think @Forever Fendt has covered what I see as the main stumbling block, contracting is not agriculture and therefore the need for the building is not permissible under PD. The barn would have to be of a size in line with what would be required for a 40ac holding, you would also need a written agreement for your continuing rent of the 40ac.
Would the fee for full planning be justifiable against the cost of keeping the machinery outside? Going through a PD application, getting it passed, being found out for not using it for PD purposes, filing a full application would be a much more drawn out procedure.

 

[wasted years]

I am looking at applying for PP for a largish gas fuelled generator project to back up the grid.
On e council I am working with have allowed a similar project that has raised complaints (noise) and are using the experience gained from this to more closely vet what I am doing.
My issue is that the existing project has not in any way been built according to the application, in plain terms the PP was for the engines to be in a sound proofed shed and what they actually built was a yard with a wooden fence with 14 diesel gensets .
After complaints secondary exhauste were added but essentially they are open sets.
Surely this is potentially embarrasing for th council as they are the competent authority?
What is the best way to use this to my advantage?
It surely cannot be right for me to be disadvantaged on the back of the councils failings?

 

[George from SJM Planning]

I am looking at applying for PP for a largish gas fuelled generator project to back up the grid.
On e council I am working with have allowed a similar project that has raised complaints (noise) and are using the experience gained from this to more closely vet what I am doing.
My issue is that the existing project has not in any way been built according to the application, in plain terms the PP was for the engines to be in a sound proofed shed and what they actually built was a yard with a wooden fence with 14 diesel gensets .
After complaints secondary exhauste were added but essentially they are open sets.
Surely this is potentially embarrasing for th council as they are the competent authority?
What is the best way to use this to my advantage?
It surely cannot be right for me to be disadvantaged on the back of the councils failings?

The council should take every application on its own merits but if during the application process the other scheme is mentioned then I would press the council to check if the scheme has been built in accordance with the application. I would also have evidence in hand to present in such an event to show the differences between the your scheme and theirs. The problem with "industrial" style appliocations is that Planning Officers are not engineers and will ahve to seek advice on many of the matters and therefore the more information you can provide the happier they will be.

 

[MF35]

Advice and guidance please.

class Q GPDO approval for conversion of agricultural barn to residential. Barn adjacent to existing house. It has been recommended that we split the title deeds to separate the two buildings albeit we are not intending to sell either in the short term.

Anyone know why this is necessary and of any implications or benefits?

 

[Nearly]

Only benefit would be so 2 people could each claim one as their primary residence.
Implications would be you might have to have separate electric supplies, rather than sharing one if at same 'address'.
Keep it simple.
I've said there'll be a lot of land sold before we're skint enough to sell a house in the farmyard.
If kids want to sell up and move it's easy enough to split up then. But the sheds / cottages are already in my name so I'm investing for myself and not increasing value of parent's asset and causing an IHT bill.

 

[chaffcutter]

@MF35 if you are going to do the conversion yourself you may be able to do it as a self-build, your contractor can bill you at 5% VAT, if buy materials yourself charged at full rate with all the invoices you can claim back all the VAT on completion. This is just one option, you need to check out how to set this up to your best advantage with your accountant. You do need to set things up before you start work though.

 

[chaffcutter]

@GeorgieB82 ?

 

[George from SJM Planning]

@GeorgieB82 ?

Sorry, the financial side is not something I can advise on