East Suffolk Council adopted their Rural Development Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) at the end of April. The SPD sits alongside the main local plan policies to inform and guide development.
As a reminder, Class Q allows the change of use of agricultural buildings to dwellings, and is very strict in that the majority of the structure must be utilised in the conversion. Only very limited demolition is permitted to facilitate the development.
One of the most significant changes outlined in the SPD is the Council’s endorsement of the demolition of barns benefitting from Class Q approvals in order to replace them with entirely new dwellings. Until recently, there was no policy-compliant way of achieving this, leaving owners to convert barns which are oftentimes too large, difficult to convert and not particularly attractive. Though Durrants nearly always achieve an improved design through a follow-up full planning application, the SPD means that owners could move away from utilising the existing building altogether.
There are of course conditions to this approach. The Class Q must be a genuine fallback position – i.e. it must have a realistic prospect of being completed within the three years, with all pre-commencement conditions discharged. The replacement dwelling must also represent a significant improvement on what would have been achievable under the Class Q. This is in terms of design quality and environmental standards, as well as its suitability in terms of the setting and character of the area. The replacement dwelling must be on the same footprint as the original barn, unless there is a well justified reason for a dwelling in an ‘alternative, close location.’
This is an exciting new avenue for owners of barns in East Suffolk, and Durrants are already helping some existing clients to explore this route for their barns. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with our Senior Planner if you have a barn (with or without Class Q) that could benefit from these changes.
Jasmine Philpott
07710 674301
