Dwellings Approved in Place of Agricultural Conversion

We are pleased to announce that planning permission has been approved for the construction of three new dwellings on a site located within the Green Belt, Arden Special Landscape Area and the open countryside. The scheme has been granted as an alternative to the ‘fallback’ scheme involving the conversion of the existing agricultural barns to five dwellings, for which Prior Approval had previously been granted.

Establishing the fallback scheme was critical to achieving planning permission as the Council’s deliberations centred on the benefits of the proposed new build scheme over the conversion of the two large agricultural buildings.

The Council, aided by the 3D visuals and modelled comparisons provided by our Architectural Team, concluded that the new dwellings scheme’s reduction in height and volume and its more compact built form set away from the boundary with agricultural fields would have a lesser impact on Green Belt openness. The reduction in the number of dwellings was also welcomed given the site’s location outside of a settlement.

Other matters we put forward in favour of the scheme included the improvements to the environmental performance of the buildings, addressing climate change, and the improved residential amenity for future occupiers, neither of which could be achieved within the constraints of the conversion scheme.

Some design compromises had to be made, notably the reduction in the size and location of windows, requested by the planning officer who wanted the buildings to maintain an agricultural appearance.

Our clear presentation of the benefits, both through the Planning Support Statement and 3D visuals, alongside our clients’ willingness to positively respond to the Council’s comments was instrumental to achieving a successful outcome.

Planning permission was granted under delegated powers on 16th August 2022.