What Makes an Agricultural planning application strong?

[Daft farmer]

Morning All we are looking to put in a substantial planning application for a new milking parlour, collecting yard and handling facilities.

What makes the application strong? Its a large building that for cow flow juts out of our site which will make it quite noticeable.

I've read through the handbook and there's a lot of subjective phrases such as "quality design" which i find difficult to pin down.

I've also read the policy does support sustainable growth and expansion of rural business.

The proposal will include a new staff car park which will move them off the side of the road, which i think helps.

Solar panels on the roof to reduce the environmental impact of the milk we produce, the development will improve the farms working enviroment but does this help?

Does providing more jobs help? What are they looking for that we can add or consider to help the application?

 

[carbonfibre farmer]

@George from SJM Planning

 

[L P]

LA here generally delegate refusal to highways or environmental team or oddities such as outdoor lighting. Highways would be delighted with off road parking but not extra traffic movements, nor employment if you're not on a bus route. Environment, probably happy if you put emphasis on reducing noise, light and runoff pollution.

 

[George from SJM Planning]

Do you have a planning consultant? For a scheme so important to the farm and the wider community you should consider letting a professional handle the application - they will demonstrate how the proposal complies with local and national planning policies, supports rural growth and improves the area for the general public. They will also handle the consultants you will need reports from - ecologists, drainage consultants, highways consultants etc.

 

[early riser]

Good luck.

As soon as you mention livestock to a planning authority things take on a whole new meaning. Been there got the t-shirt sadly.

Will the application involve an increase in livestock numbers? Are you within 5km of any SSSI’s? Main thing that the planners will be obsessed with is ammonia emissions, so make sure you have the SCAIL analysis data in line

 

[spin cycle]

pictures of the chief planning officer in a brothel

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Sustainability
Supporting jobs
Ensuring continued viability of family farm going back years
Modernising for greater efficiency (insert figures for saving on energy)
Enhanced road safety
More biodiversity enhancement due to planting with build

This is the kind of stuff that gives our planners a semi!

Pay a professional though

 

[Daft farmer]

Yes use a planning consultant, just gathering my own thoughts as to what i can and cant do to help.

We have had around 10 applications through in the past few years around the site., weve done bat surveys, traffic surveys, noise surveys etc.

Providing trees as screening obviously helps but planting trees elsewhere on the farm, ie some distance away is that relevant?

Not had to do anything with Ammonia in the past, the building blocks a views of a single house, but not sunlight to the property, hence some of the previous surveys weve done.

 

[Poncherello1976]

Improved Health and safety on the farm, having to comply with assurance schemes/government directives. Decreasing labour availability in agricultural sector so need to modernise. Better animal welfare.
I know they do not link directly to planning policy but as a big supermarket says - Every Little Helps
But as said above, it is a large site use a professional. If it is a livestock building and close to other properties there may be complications.

 

[chaffcutter]

When looking at tree screening, don’t forget perspective, ie that trees planted a distance away from a building can often hide it better tha those planted adjacent to it

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Also don’t plant any before, they dont count!

 

[copse]

Morning All we are looking to put in a substantial planning application for a new milking parlour, collecting yard and handling facilities.

What makes the application strong? Its a large building that for cow flow juts out of our site which will make it quite noticeable.

I've read through the handbook and there's a lot of subjective phrases such as "quality design" which i find difficult to pin down.

I've also read the policy does support sustainable growth and expansion of rural business.

The proposal will include a new staff car park which will move them off the side of the road, which i think helps.

Solar panels on the roof to reduce the environmental impact of the milk we produce, the development will improve the farms working enviroment but does this help?

Does providing more jobs help? What are they looking for that we can add or consider to help the application?

Do you have to do it all in one go? As I’ve found they don’t like one big planning application but it’s not so bad a bit each year.

 

[Daft farmer]

Its a collecting yard with a milking parlour at the far end so not much option.

 

[Horn&corn]

Explain how it’s improving cow welfare, lowering your carbon footprint and has additional benefits to the economy and local families. Big tick if you get the right planning officer. Sustainable.