PLANNING JUNGLE
DONT GET LOST IN THE
About to apply for planning permission to turn that unused
barn into offices or storage? It can be straightforward – if
you do it right. David Cousins asked two rural planning
experts to provide some pointers to success
LIKE Lieut Col Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn, farmers could be forgiven for feeling distinctly beleaguered at the moment. Everyone from Tony Blair downwards is telling them to turn their redundant barns into offices or workshops, yet when they put in for planning permission what do they find? Hostile planners and a system that seems stacked against them.
If that sounds like you, youre far from alone. But is there a better, pain-free way of dealing with the planning system? One that wont leave you feeling aggrieved and aggressive?
For an answer to that question, we went to two people who specialise in getting planning applications for rural projects accepted. Both are chartered surveyors and have had many years of experience dealing with the vagaries of the British planning system.
Barry Davies from Davies & Partners at Kettering, Northants, specialises in getting planning consent for redundant agricultural buildings being converted for leisure/tourism use. He is also chairman of the rural planning division of the British Institute of Agricultural Consultants.
Tony Kernons firm Kernon Countryside Consultants, based at Lechlade, Glos, also specialises in rural planning and tends to concentrate on gaining planning permission for conversions of barns to office, workshop or storage use. He is secretary of the BIACs rural planning division.
Many farmers may wonder whether they need to call in a specialist at all. Can you, in fact, do it all yourself?
Pitfalls for the unwary
It depends on your personality type and the nature of the project, say Mr Davies and Mr Kernon. A farmer who is prepared to put in the time and effort can quite satisfactorily look after his own planning application, provided its a fairly straightforward project. But there are pitfalls for the unwary.
"If its a simple application, like a change of use from barn to workshop or offices (B1)," says Mr Davies. "That shouldnt be too contentious. However, if its a change of use to storage and distribution use (B8) and involves a fair bit of haulage to and from the building, thats a lot more complicated and you may want to call in a planning consultant to advise you."
Mr Kernon agrees, but points out that many local authorities are rather daunting to deal with if youre a member of the public. "People are often put off by their first contact with planners," he says.
"They may get someone saying that they have to pull that building down, but that may well not be the case."
Both agree that the farmer himself is sometimes the last person who should be handling the process. The fact that they are regularly called in just when a farmer has had planning refused or fallen out completely with the planning department at the local authority seems ample evidence of this.
"Approaching the planners with an its-my-land-Ill-do-what-I-want-with-it attitude, however justified, will simply get their backs up and progress will come to a grinding halt," says Mr Davies.
"An application that starts badly is much harder to recover than one that goes well right from the start," adds Mr Kernon.
The planning process
The pre-application stage typically takes 1-3 months and is a chance to work out what your chances of gaining planning permission are, says Mr Davies. Its a good idea to try to get the planning officer and county highways officer out to the site to talk over the proposals with them.
If the site is likely to be used by a haulage firm and involve washing of vehicles, or even if you have a tearoom, you will need a separate waste disposal system and should also consider talking to the Environment Agency
"You might decide that the scheme wont work, but its better to find it out at this stage before youve spent a lot of time and money. The biggest problem is often getting planning officers and highways officers on site. They may say that they are too busy," he adds. "But its worth persevering. You do need to tread carefully, though."
Once theyve made their visit, follow up with a letter. Send one to each of the bodies present (planning officer/highways officer/Environment Agency) thanking them for coming out to hear an outline of the project and emphasising that you were pleased to note their encouraging (or constructive) comments.
When you make the application, apply for the widest possible planning permission, ie B1 (offices), B2 (light industrial) and B8 (storage). The chances are that you dont know who the ultimate occupants will be, so dont restrict yourself unnecessarily.
Then sit back and wait. You will get an acknowledgement that your application has been received, but it will probably be 6-8 weeks before your application goes before a planning committee. Dont panic yet. Remember that the council has to have sound reasons for saying no to your application.
The planning committee
If youve never been down the long and rocky road that is the planning process, the machinations of the planning committee can seem about as fathomable as a voodoo ritual.
Planning committees consist of 10-20 people, all councillors from the district council, though many represent rural areas. One of them may well be your local councillor; if not, it may be a good idea to ensure they are there on the day. They can request a site visit – it doesnt always happen – or you can ask them (via your local councillor) to visit.
In front of them they will have a copy of the planning report. This is compiled by the planning officer, with input from the highways officer etc, and summarises your application. It will have been sent to every member of the planning committee a few days before.
Councils are legally obliged to let you see a copy of the report three days before the planning committee meets. If there are factual errors in the report or if it seems to run counter to the sentiments of PPG7, draft a letter to the chairman (or any other councillor of influence) and say that you want to add extra information.
It can be a good idea to lobby councillors on the planning committee. If your local councillor on the committee supports the scheme and another councillor will second it, your application could go sailing through. If they dont support it, you may need to work on them!
Three minutes
Planning committee meetings generally start at 6.15pm and may well run on until 11.30pm. You are entitled to attend the meeting and (with most councils) have three minutes to put your case. You may not consider this a pleasant task, but dont miss the opportunity to attend, advises Mr Davies. Also, non-appearance is often taken as a sign of disrespect.
If you do want to speak, you must inform the committee on the day. Also ask the clerk who else is speaking – he is legally obliged to tell you – and you will then have a good idea of what level of opposition is ranged against you.
What if the committee refuses your application? A refusal by the planning committee, though frustrating, is by no means the end of the road. You have six months to appeal to the secretary of state. This will involve either a written representation, a local hearing or public enquiry.
The good side is that the applicant has more time to put his case; the bad side is that all this will probably cost you £2000-£2500 rather than the £190 for the planning application fee itself.
Its not just traditional buildings that get planning permission. A modern-type building can make an ideal conversion for storage or light industrial.
You may not relish attending the planning committee meeting, but its important that you do.
All too many attempts by farmers to get planning permission for a barn conversion end in an angry argument between farmer and planner.
PLANNING JUNGLE
Tony Kernon specialises in planning issues relating to barn conversions to offices, storage
and light industrial.
Above: Barry Davies specialises in sorting out planning problems on conversions of barns for leisure and tourism use.
Left: A large, traditional barn like this is suitable for a range of
non-agricultural uses.
The most likely reason for an application to fail is because of a highways problem. They may insist you pay for expensive road-widening or filter-lane schemes.
Dont exaggerate the scale or likely success of a proposed project.