Farm Diversification & Planning

Adding another income stream to your business

The economics of some small businesses and particularly the rural economy over recent years has encouraged many diversification projects. At Robinson & Hall, our team of surveyors and planners has seen a vast array of diversification schemes, but all have required careful coordination and planning.

Expert advice is essential to check whether the proposed diversification is lawful without first applying for statutory consents. In most instances, the main focus is whether planning consent is required, but building regulations consent and secondary licencing regulations for certain uses should not be forgotten.

Prior approval

There are prior approval processes for change of use of various types of building which provide for a simplified approval process for certain categories of development, but there are conditions and hoops to jump through.

Some examples are:

Class L – Small House In Multiple Occupation (HMOs) to dwelling/s and vice versa

Class MA – Change of use of commercial, business and service properties and former offices to residential use

Class Q – Change of use and conversion of agricultural buildings to up to 10 new dwellings within the agricultural unit, each of which is allowed to be up to 150m²

Class R – Change of use of agricultural buildings to a flexible commercial use for up to 1,000m²

Class S – Change of use of agricultural buildings to state funded schools for up to 500m²

Class T – Change of use from previous commercial, business and service, hotels etc to state funded schools

This list is not exhaustive and there are other classes available for other niche instances.

In all cases, there are caveats and conditions, so it is imperative to seek advice which takes into account the specifics of the existing site characteristics and the proposed use..

When you can use Permitted Development Rights

Visit the relevant web page to find out more.

Planning Feasibility Study

To determine whether Permitted Development Rights are applicable to your property or to explore other development options, a planning feasibility study is an excellent first step. This study helps to evaluate compliance with planning regulations and ensures that site constraints and planning policies are thoroughly understood before embarking on the development process. This way, you can wisely invest your time, energy and resources into the project.

Pre-application Enquiry

Where a full planning application is required, it is often helpful to consult the local authority via a pre-application enquiry as whilst the policy is written in black and white, it is for the local authority officers to interpret their policies, and we often see that diversification schemes do not fit neatly into every policy.

As there are many considerations when starting your diversification project, it is important not to rush this decision and look at all implications to include cost of conversion, impact on an existing business, tax, cost of marketing, insurance, and other matters such as planning and professional services.

Our Guide to planning is a step by step general guide through the traditional planning application process.