22/4616N REFUSED: Extension to a Rural Barn

Chorley, Alderley Edge | Cheshire East Planning Application

The key reason for refusal in this application is stated as ‘For reason of its excessive bulk, massing and prominence.the proposed extension would not be sympathetic to the host barn conversion building'.

When looking at extension barns in rural areas, there are usually design guidelines that have been carefully considered by the Local Planning Authority, in this case Cheshire East have a series of these documents:

https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/planning/spatial-planning/cheshire_east_local_plan/supplementary_plan_documents/supplementary_plan_documents.aspx

In this case the go-to document is:

https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/pdf/planning/spatial-planning/strategic-planning/en-pp-spd-rural.pdf

In this application, the scheme shows a single-storey barn with a deep plan front to back which makes the ridge height of the barn tall (image below). The Barn has already been converted into 3 residences, keeping the original simple form.  The scheme for a 1.5 storey addition appears as a typical domestic extension with standard windows and doors. The designer should imagine how this rural farm building might have been added-to over the year in a farm environment and the proposed extension should take the form of an ancillary rural addition in order for the scheme to be considered appropriate. 

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