Lincolnshire

A large arable farm in the fens, that already had two houses on the farm, needed a further dwelling. The reason for the need is to oversee the filling of a reservoir from a river, and to monitor the irrigation of the crops. A case had to be built to persuade the local authority of the essential requirement for the farmer’s son to live there. This was achieved, although the house had to be moved nearer to the reservoir than was initially required (to avoid a flood risk area), all while keeping it close to the reservoir to fulfil the need to oversee its use.

Berkshire

It has taken about ten years to achieve two permanent houses on a parcel of 30 acres of pasture-land. We had to go through a temporary dwelling phase, two planning refusals and a failed planning appeal to get there. However persistence has paid off, and the second house was finally achieved, after two final appearances at planning committees. It has been a marathon piece of work, and shows that even if a planning appeal is lost, it is not necessarily the end of the road.

Lincolnshire

When a house is built on a farm for good work-related reasons, of course an Agricultural Occupancy Condition (AOC) is applied. This is no problem for the occupants. But things can change, businesses can cease, and life moves on. So it happened for two family businesses in the same village. So, more than twenty years after two related businesses ceased trading, they decided that it was time to regularise the living arrangements for their respective families. We assisted them both to successfully gain Certificates of Lawfulness to remove the effect of the AOCs.

Nottinghamshire

A dairy unit was very tired. It needed major renovation works and modernisation, including a new parlour, collecting yard, silage clamps and a new cubicle building. All had to be planned, and planning permission gained, along with an environmental assessment instructed. All was achieved, and at the time of writing, it is being built.

Shropshire

We were instructed to help a farmer gain planning permission for a barn on a small parcel of agricultural land. This was not in itself remarkable, but its design harked back to much more traditional buildings, and is to be built from bricks, timber and a slate roof. What is even more strange is that previously, the applicant has had a similar building in another authority refused. Sometimes decisions can be very perplexing, and work continues to try to turn that one around.

Nottinghamshire

A farmer built a cattle building on bare land, near to a fairly major road. There are no other buildings nearby. The LPA issued an Enforcement Notice, insisting that he remove the building. Unsurprisingly the owner wanted to retain it, so we lodged a planning appeal. As his main business is doing something non-agricultural, we had to prove such things as the viability of his farming business (which had been on-going for 25 years) and many other matters related to his farming. We involved a planning consultant to deal with the legal issues raised.

We then received a contact from the LPA to say that they felt we had justified his position as a worthy applicant for the building, and that if we lodged a ‘normal’ planning application, they would approve it, and we could then withdraw the appeal. This we did, and the owner now has permission for his building, and he need not remove it, after all.

Derbyshire

A retired miner had bought 12 acres, and developed a business farming alpacas. He had gained permission for a temporary dwelling (but only after a planning appeal), and we were instructed to assist with an impending refusal for the ensuing permanent dwelling. The refusal did indeed arrive, but the planning authority refused to detail why. It took a formal FOI request to obtain the information from the LPA. A further planning appeal was lodged, and finally our client gained permission for his permanent dwelling on his land.  

Nottinghamshire

An equestrian business that specialised in livery and rehabilitation of horses, already had permission for a temporary dwelling. But the three year period was nearly up, and they desperately needed to stay on site to fulfil the requirements of their horses’ owner-clients.  We had to put together their case to persuade the local authority to grant them permission to build their permanent house, which was achieved.

Kent

A dairy farmer wanted an extension to an existing milking parlour. This was applied for and gained, to be swiftly followed by an application for a forestry workshop. This, too, was gained, and the applicant could get on with putting up their buildings.