Sheldon Bosley Knight’s (SBK) planning team is advising developers about changes to legislation involving Class Q and Class R conversions.
Class Q relates to the conversion of barns to residential accommodation and Class R relates to the change of use of agricultural buildings.
SBK’s head of planning, Natasha Blackmore da Silva said this may have an impact on anyone who is looking to put forward a planning application which involves either of those prior approval mechanisms.
The main differences for Class Q applications are that the previous five-unit restriction has been increased to 10 new dwellings.
Alongside this, the amount of space an applicant can convert has increased to 1,000 m², however the maximum size of any dwelling is now 150 m². Therefore, to have 10 new dwellings under Class Q, each one will need to be 100 m² each.
Additionally, an applicant will be able to extend to the back of the barn or agricultural building by up to 4m on any hard surface which was present on or before July 24, 2023.
The biggest factor and advantage for owners is more barns will qualify under Class Q, including those no longer used for agricultural purposes.
There are currently no changes to barns used for equestrian purposes unless they are part of an established agricultural unit.
The changes take effect from May 21, 2024 and any applications on or after this date will be subject to the new limits.
Any applicants who want their projects to be assessed on the current version of the legislation, will need them to be submitted, paid and processed before this date.
Our team will therefore be aiming to submit affected applications by May 15 to guarantee they are evaluated against the current criteria.
Class R previously allowed for an agricultural building to be changed to B8 (storage and distribution), C1 (hotels) or use Class E (commercial, business or service).
From May 21, Class R buildings will also be able to be changed to use Class B2 (general industrial), use Class F2(c) (outdoor sport and recreation) or the provision of agricultural training.
The former floor space limit of 500 m2 has also risen to 1,000 m2.
These changes follow on from legislative changes brought in by the government for the four year rule. This relates to bringing enforcement action against operational development and the change of use to a single dwelling and has now been revoked in England.
The change, which came into force on April 25, would see all new breaches of planning control be exempt from enforcement action only after 10 years.
Importantly, this change does not apply where the operational development was substantially completed or the change of use to a dwelling occurred before April 25, 2024. Only breaches which started after this date will be affected by the announced changes.
Agricultural notification applications have also seen change. Class A of Part 6 – the limit of 1,000 square metres has increased to 1,500 square metres.
Class B of Part 6 – buildings can now be extended by 25% instead of 20% and the limit has been raised to 1,250 square metres.
If you are concerned about how this change may affect you or would like further clarification, please get in touch with Sheldon Bosley Knight’s planning and architecture team at planning@sheldonbosleyknight.co.uk or call 01789 387880.
