Neil999

Thanks Ian. What you say makes sense and I may be expecting the worst when there is no need. Ultimately my overall plans are to improve the appearance of the area and the location is completely out of site of everyone, even local walking trails. I guess the next step is to have some discussions with the LPA then. And pre planning advice does sound like a good route. Thanks.

Thanks Ian really appreciate the input and understand each response. I am relatively confident that my route forward will be to apply for full planning which will include additional residential grounds. My thoughts are to 1. Accomodate a heat pump / battery (solar/wind) storage into the building - (justification for the small pump/energy building) 2. Add a wind turbine further away from the house "within the new residential/garden footprint". Also add raised beds - (possibly justification for extending the residential garden) 3. Adding a flat roofed extension that houses part green roof, part solar - (creating habitat and renewables) Do these sound viable to you ? Can you reccomend any strategy for extending the garden as without doing so (within the next few years) i would have to build and sell which i do not really want to do ? When i moved in to the original house 5 years ago i put a playground in the field without planning permissions. My next door neighbours also extended their garden without planning permission, as have most people on my track. Id rather do everything properly to be honest as i plan on living here potentially for the rest of my life. I just find it hard to believe that there will never be an oportunity to have a bigger garden or build a workshop in the future, or create a playground etc.. without fighting the LPA. Thanks.

Hi we have class Q granted on a barn conversion. What we need however is to build a small pump house ( 2m x 3m)ish ) We want to build this out of breeze block and clad it to match the building. Also I have a few questions surrounding this/future changes if anyone can offer advice ? - Once we get the class Q building signed off how long until we are able to extend it e.g conservatory etc if at all ? Do we still have PD rights ? - Are we able to build a small out building ( 2m x 3m)ish to house a pump house without further planning ? - If we wish to extend our "grounds" is there any way to do so without additional planning, and what are the chances of success based on experienece ? Please not that our property is at the base of a small hill and is not overlooked or anywhere near any other buildings (middle of nowhere). We are also not in an AONB . Thanks in advance.

Hi. @Si3 thank you for the advice. I realise I have 2 routes. 1. Class q followed by full planning and 2. Pre app followed by full planning falling back on Q. My issues are that 1. I keep getting conflicting advice 2. Class Q alone will not provide adequate space for my family. @Trillip So far I have consulted 2 planning consultants who both have me slightly different opinions. I have a third coming tomorrow so I can obtain further advice. I have also just had a structural engineer around who said that with some basic additions of ply wood we can provide enough support to convert the existing steel structure into a house "as is" which in my view is brilliant as far as retaining existing features and meeting class Qs main requirement of "easier to convert than rebuild". I still don't fully understand why the parish would be involved as we are way out of town. Could you please clarify on that ? I also will absolutely be looking to use renewables, solar/wind, heat pumps and a potential green roof so I am hopeful this all goes for me. I am still teetering on submitting but hopefully I will be moving forward in one direction in the next 2 weeks as I absolutely need to get moving on this. Thanks again for everyone's advice. I will report back.

@IanR thank you for the input/feedback. Again its really appreciated. I have taken what you have said on board and as such will resolve the potential issues having "stuff in the lambing shed" may cause to ensure the best possible fall back plan of Class Q. I believe now i am going to attempt to go down the full planning route and use Class Q as a fallback (if my understanding of the above is correct) it appears to be the best option. This might sound like a stupid question but can i please ask from the following documents what should i be requesting in order to begin the pre-app ? Planning Fees Thank you.

Hi thank you for the great feedback and insight. It really is appreciated. Further Information -- images below of the large barn and lambing shed image1 image2 image3 image4 location/ ownership - We live down a country track a mile long with no real sight of roads, people or anything that would restrict conversion. - We own the farm which now only comprises of our building (which we wish to sell) and these 2 buildings (barn and lambing shed). - I have reviewed other class Q conversions in the area. There are many and one of the planning consultants said that our authority were much better and easier than the nearest other. - Our LPA seem generally FOR Class Q conversions (there have been a few of them along our road and on our track) - The large barn and smaller lambing shed have concrete slabs that are in good condition and there is zero subsidance. - The large barn is clear and only contains a small old tractor and a bunch of hay - The smaller barn currently is half full of old belongings (table saw,tables, gym etc) because i was told that it has not got any chance of being included in Class Q and i HAVE to store this stuff somewhere i fugured it didnt matter and should affect anything . Please can one of you clarify if this is wise with the assumption that this building will only ever possibly be converted under full planning in the future. - My vision for a completed property would be to join both buildings and extend the larger barn but keep everything as one level to avoid underpinning and any negative impact to the surroundings. @Bobthebuilder2 - Thanks - I have spoken with 2 planning consultants and both have said that the large banr may be viable but the smaller one was not and would detract. I just struggle to understand how 1. the small barn would not make sense being converted and 2. Why the planning consultants were sucking their teeth at whether the larger barn could be converted as it was a. not a fully steel structure and b. was not a fully stone building. Especially when just up our track a recent class Q had been acheved on a steel structure with no walls. It was literally just a rusty steel frame and a roof. This has since been cladded and is complete. @IanR - I am slightly confused about the Pre-app process. My initial understanding was that i needed to 1. get someone around from the council to review the building and then 2. Submit a prior approval application to convert the barn and wait the 56 days for the decision LPA . Is this now the best coarse of action ? or are you reccomending an alternative ? @IanR - Regarding your suggestion to convert/build new. What is attractive to me right now is that with a few breeze blocks, some cladding, insulation etc i could have a water tight structure relatively cheap. Plus i would like to keep the steel work that is in the barn as it is relatively ornate and would make nice features. @Temp & @IanR - Thanks for the clarification. @ToughButterCup - Yes there are numerous some of them i am amazed have passed which is why i was so confused as to me my barns look like a no brainer. So with the above in mind my assumption is that i should 1. obtain class Q and then 2. go for planning to join the smaller shed (as garage) and extend the front of the barn lengthwise by approox 35% to allow for a reasonable size living space. P.S I must note that i am running out of time personally. My mortgage is coming to an end and i am eager to sell my house but must first ensure that i can build on my barn. To do so i will need the cash from the sale. Hence the rush to get going. Thanks again for the advice. Neil.

Hi nice to meet everyone. I am just starting out on my journey and looking to attempt a class Q conversion. I have done a LOT of research into the matter and consulted 2 planners and although I accept their advice I am struggling with their recommendation. Currently I have a large barn built with part steel frame, blockwork full height on both end, half height down the sides, with a tin roof. Next to this approx 1mtr away is an open fronted lambing shed which is part blockwork, half height walls and a couple of steel supports. Their advice is to only go for class Q on the larger building for reasons such as "not enough structure in the smaller building" or "it may complicate things". My problem is that I need the additional space. The barn by itself does not have enough space to make a home for us as we have 2 kids and I also need a small bedsit space for my mother.Their advice is to get class Q initially on the main barn and then submit for planning to extend and include the smaller shed. Does this sound like the best coarse of action in your opinion ? I am a pretty open and honest guy and this seems somewhat underhanded and I'm conscious it mate get the local authorities back up. Though I'm told it won't and " that's just how it's done".. Any advice on the above is really appreciated. But with the assumption this is the only way forward... Next steps Firstly I am going to file a pre-apps which I understand is approx £200 and includes a site visit. The smaller barn is currently being used to house stuff that would generally be in a garage and this building has half its roof missing and in need of repair. The larger building has a tractor and other agricultural stuff in. Is there anything I should do or be aware of saying either before or when this happens? Should I say I want this smaller barn to be a garage ? Should I agree to knock it down ? I just want to ensure I am in a position to answer appropriately when needed. Also regarding proving it was in use agriculturally for the past 10 years ? Will I actually need to do this ? I naught the house 4 years ago and on the sale photos it shows a combine and straw in the barn and the seller told me it's been there for the past 6 years or so.. will they track him down and confirm this ? Or do I need to ? Thanks for any advice and I have a ton more questions including (roofing, solar, self drilling a borehole, self drawing architect designs) to which I will raise in appropriate catagories. Regards Neil