Michael Gove and Agricultural Buildings to Houses

Class Q gone crazy!

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Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for levelling up, announced earlier this week that he is going to promote change of use of city centre buildings to dwellings, together with agricultural buildings, or at least begin consultations on this. We are struggling to see the logic behind further relaxations on agricultural buildings. Class Q Prior approvals were introduced in 2013 we believe to assist farmers in gaining permission to re-use their redundant buildings, and with the intension of restoring redundant and run down structures which re all part of the character of our countryside.

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Thus ensued hundreds of applications to convert fairly recent agricultural sheds to houses, not what was intended but as the wording of the planning policy was open to interpretation, applications were refused by local authorities due to new houses in the countryside being against policy, but overturned at appeal as the inspectors believed the schemes complied with the policies. So we now have planning approvals to convert sheds built for animals into houses for humans, in order to circumnavigate the planning laws which prevent new houses in the countryside.

Next, came a series of applications to replace Class Q approved sheds, with much nicer looking housing developments which are designed to compliment their surroundings and once again caselaw won through at appeal, with the Class Q approval as the fall back. Planners and locals would prefer to see something more attractive in these locations so this has now become the process to obtain planning permission for new houses in the countryside.

So effectively Gove is promoting City Centre development together with countryside development, not quite sure where to turn here. If the idea is still to give farmers income, then there should be a new planning law which allows development of new homes in rural locations, but extremely sustainable, this would promote investment in the countryside but also keep visual impact to a minimum. Maybe allow allow re-development of farm buildings with no greater volume, but with new carbon-neutral housing, and cut out the tortuous Class Q process.