Keep up to date with the latest Stags news
Joe Yardley BA Hons MA MSc, of our planning team, talks about obtaining consent on a recent planning project with detail on how we navigated certain challenges along the way.
Stags Planning and Design team are very proud to announce planning consent for a project at Roseworthy Barton Farm, where our clients sought consent for the conversion of four traditional barns to dwellings plus the erection of two new-build dwellings and associated works.
The farm, which consists of a a Grade II listed building, constructed around the year 1800, and a clust of non-listed outbuildings, is located in an area of open Cornish countryside circa 2.6kms south west of the town of Cambourne. The site consists of the farmhouse itself and a cluster of outbuildings located to the north in a linear fashion.
The scheme had numerous elements involved, including an initial Class Q prior approval application for the non-listed outbuildings – which is an application for the change of use and conversion of an agricultural building to a d
welling – as well as a redesign of the scheme following a ‘free go’ further submission after negotiation with Council. When a previous application has been withdrawn (as in this case) a further submission by the same applicant, for the same type of development, on the same site can generally be made free of charge within 12 months and this was an option that Stags made full use of in getting consent for this site.
A challenge that we came across, which is presented by the site’s location within Cornwall, was the need to request prior approval for the conversion of the traditional barns before we applied for their conversion under the current consent. This falls under Part 3, Class Q of the General Permitted Development Order (2015 as amended) and is particular to the Cornwall Council. This piece of legislation governs the various types of development that can be achieved without the need to apply for full planning permission.
The project was also further constrained by the network of public rights of way, that run very close to the site, which we overcame by submitting revised drawings showing where these rights of way are located following careful analysis of the appropriate maps.
Finally, we had to
demonstrate to the Council that the erection of the new build element of the scheme would enhance the character and appearance of the area and would have a positive impact on the heritage asset of Roseworthy Barton Farm. Additionally, Stags had to demonstrate that the conversion element of the scheme represented a betterment over what could be achieved under Class Q.
Part of the stipulations placed upon Class Q is that the buildings cannot form part of the curtilage of a listed building. In order to demonstrate that the project coincided with this, it was necessary to seek additional third-party legal input and reliance on the legislation, which rules that buildings, not in existence on or before 1st July 1948, cannot be considered as curtilage listed. The legal advice concluded that the farmhouse technically functions as a dwelling; therefore, the barns are not functionally ancillary to a farmhouse. Prior Approval under Class Q was granted, and the full application was made.
The scheme will now deliver an additional six dwellings for open market sale, all of which make use of the traditional building materials, which are vernacular to the area, as well as making a positive contribution to the built environment of the farmyard. Through the grant of consent, it is clear that the Council have rightly seen the conversion and new build elements of the proposal as the optimum way of securing the site’s continued use for an appropriate function in a way which will add value and contribute to an important heritage asset.
If you are considering a project and would like professional advice on any aspects involved, please contact our Planning and Design team on 01392 439046 or planning@stags.co.uk
