Rural planning changes provide further opportunity to farmers and landowners

These culminated in changes announced in the 2017 autumn Budget and also in consultation recently announced on the National Planning Policy Framework.

The headlines revolve around the need for the planning system to bring more housing completions forward on a national basis but embedded in the detail are opportunities worth looking at.

In the NPPF review is a commitment to encouraging a greater proportion of new housing on smaller sites which can come forward more quickly by requiring local plans to identify at least 20 per cent of new housing sites on land of 0.5 hectares or less. Furthermore, such sites would be exempt from the need to provide affordable housing, rightly or wrongly, and this ought to make more small village edge sites come through planning more quickly.

There is also a new concept of entry level exception sites being situated adjacent to existing settlements aimed at meeting the needs of first time buyers or renters, and this could align with open market housing to make a small housing scheme viable.

There is more support for rural businesses and commercial proposals. This stems from a recognition that in some cases new business premises in open countryside which are not well served by public transport should be justified. This comes along with continued commitment to allowing conversion of rural buildings in open countryside for alternative uses including new homes.

Alongside this there are important changes to permitted development rights already in operation under Use Class Q. These now mean that up to five smaller new homes can be created from existing farm buildings rather than three.

In addition there is potentially an easing of the restrictions requiring full planning for new farm buildings with an increase in the upper size limit for permitted development increasing from 465 square metres to 1,000 square metres.

These particular changes are now in place and their effect should make more farmstead based development more viable. We would welcome contact if you wish to look at these in more detail. I can be contacted on 01952 239 534 or by emailing sfarrow@savills.com.

Steve Farrow, associate director in the rural management team at Savills Telford