McLoughlin Planning secured planning permission for 3 new agricultural buildings, 2 silage pits and other improvements at Ferris Court Farm near Stroud.

Ferris Court Farm is a Red Tractor approved agricultural business dealing in a combination of arable crops and livestock. The farm currently accommodates 120 beef cattle, 20 rare breed pigs and 8 rare breed egg-laying hens. The planning permission allows the farm to increase its capacity of livestock and arable crops helping to safeguard the future of the farm which has been run by the Cullimore family for generations.

McLoughlin Planning had to negotiate skilfully with the Council as the site is located within the Cotswolds AONB and the development was in the vicinity of listed buildings and a nearby residential property. The Council agreed that the benefits of allowing to the farm to improve its facilities in the manner we proposed would not have any negative impact on the landscape or the nearby historic buildings, whilst also protecting the amenity of neighbouring residents.

If you have an agricultural business that requires new buildings or other development please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your planning options.

On the 31 August 2020, Class ZA of the Town and County Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (amendment) (No.3) Order 2020 will come into force at precisely 10.00 am. We’d like to highlight a few practical applications of the new class.

What does Class ZA apply to?

To allow for the demolition of a building in Use Class B1 (a to c) as set out in the 1987 Use Classes order and its replacement with a purpose-built detached block of flats or a single detached dwelling house.

Any size block of flats or dwelling house?

No, the replacement building has to be within the footprint of the existing building, although there is nothing in the Order about the extent of curtilage associated with it.

Also, the maximum height of the replacement building cannot exceed the lesser of 18 metres above ground level or 7 metres above the height of the old building.

What does it allow for?

Paragraph ZA(3) sets out the operations which are permitted under Class ZA, through sub paragraphs (a) to (j).

In effect it allows for operations which are “reasonably necessary” for the demolition and construction of the new building. This includes the installation of plant, services, means of access to name a few.

Where Class ZA is not
permitted?

Paragraph ZA.1 sets out a number of qualifying criteria against which the proposals must be assessed. Failure to comply with any of the criteria set out in paragraphs ZA.1 (a) to ZA.1 (m) means that development is not permitted. Key points to note are as follows:

• The building to be demolished has to have been constructed before 31 December 1989 and its footprint cannot exceed 1,000 sq.m.
• The building has to have been vacant for a period of 6 months preceding the application and had to have existed on 12 March 2020.

What is required?

Any development proposed under Class ZA is a prior approval application and an application must be submitted to the Council. This is dealt with under Paragraph ZA.2 (2) setting out the information requirements which must be met.

How can this be used to the benefit of our clients?

The major issue with Use Class ZA is that it allows for the demolition
of B1 buildings of up to 1,000 sq.m. in footprint under the prior approval process.

Equally, it only applies to buildings which were constructed before 31 December 1989. Therefore, we are looking at buildings which are over 30 years old.

A practical example would be:

B1 building with a footprint of 1000 sq.m. It’s redevelopment to residential use is prevented by an employment land protection policy in an adopted Local Plan. Client has residential development aspirations which are being actively thwarted by the Local Plan on previous occasions.

Client brief is to secure planning permission for the redevelopment of the site, securing an optimal scheme.

• Stage 1 – prepare a Prior Approval application under class ZA for the redevelopment of the site. Submit to the Local Planning Authority for determination, in accordance with the Order. At this point, the scheme put forward may not meet the client brief, but the objective here is to secure Prior Approval for the residential use of the site.
• Stage 2 – LPA approve Prior approval application under Use Class ZA (as they have to because it is Prior Approval).
• Stage 3 – With Prior Approval granted, prepare and submit an application for residential redevelopment, maximising the potential of the site as per the client brief, without compromising other planning policy objectives. Argue that the Prior Approval consent establishes a Fall-Back position (with reference to Case Law if necessary) and that the employment land protection policies of the Local Plan (which have prevented the redevelopment of the site to-date) are nullified by the Prior Approval.
• Stage 4 – LPA compelled to grant planning permission for the residential scheme, making optimum use of the site, as per the client brief.

Whilst this is a simplistic overview of the planning process, it highlights the importance of a two-step approach in securing Prior Approval, followed-up by a Planning Application for the development the client wants to build out.

Prior Approval will lead to contrived schemes to meet the requirements of the Order, but its key value is that it secures the principle of residential development, which can then overcome development plan policies seeking to prevent it.

Please contact Nathan McLoughlin if you think this might be of interest to you.
Nathan.mcloughlin@mplanning.co.uk
or 01242 895008

We have launched a fun competition that is running through to September 30th. It is open to school children aged 12 to 16 and entrants are invited to design their own ‘Garden City’.

There is no need to miss out on your summer fun, so we are encouraging entrants to spend as much time as they like. In judging we will be looking for new ideas, fun concepts, engaging presentation.

Entrants can submit in whatever form they with – for example artwork, map, written, interview / documentary, presentation… You can decide and play to your strengths.

If you would like to take part, please email jenny.mcloughlin@mplanning.co.uk with your name and contact details of your parent / guardian.

Judging will take place on October 1st and winners will receive £50.

We have recently been successful at appeal in using PiP to secure planning permission for the replacement of a single dwelling with up to 9 houses.

The proposal involved a property situated at the end of Old Ends Lane in Stonehouse, measuring circa 0.5 ha. The application sought permission in principle for the erection of 9 houses was originally rejected by Stroud District Council, despite pre-application advice to the contrary. However, following the submission of a written representation appeal, the Inspector overturned the Council’s decision on the property, which currently is a single house with a large back garden.

The Inspector commentated that the site is large and “clearly capable of accommodating more homes that the single house it currently contains” going on to add that the proposal would not be incongruous even if it includes smaller homes position close to each other, given the variety of local building styles an absence of uniform layout.

Whilst 5-year supply was not part of the Appellant’s case, the Council claimed that there was not an ‘overriding need” for further houses. It is an interesting footnote to the case that Inspector reminded the Council that the NPPF’s five-year housing land supply target is a minimum and that there was no policy that precludes additional development over this figure. The proposal would also increase the number of homes and so would be more efficient use of land.

This example further serves to demonstrate the usefulness of PiP Applications for private clients in providing highly cost-effective solutions to determine the development potential of their land and secure an uplift in value.

If this were a conventional outline or detailed application, upfront costs would have been considerably higher, reflecting the need for more technical work. Whereas, with the PiP process, the costs are largely focused on the planning case for the development, allowing significant savings to be made. Please get in touch for further guidance if this is of interest to you.

McLoughlin Planning has successfully secured Permission in Principle (PiP) to construct 2 dwellings in the village of Cerney Wick, a non-principal settlement in the Cotswolds.

The site is located in an area of the Cotswolds where permission can only be granted for new housing if the development demonstrably supports or enhances the vitality of the local community.

McLoughlin Planning was able to persuade the Council to grant the PiP application because we successfully demonstrated that the new housing would make a positive contribution to the vitality of Cerney Wick as a small village with limited services.

It was the first PiP application to be permitted by Cotswold District Council since new legislation was introduced in June 2017.

The Town and Country Planning (Permission in Principle) (Amendment) Order 2017 came into force with the aim of speeding up housing delivery on small sites by giving developers more up-front certainty by obtaining a permission ‘in principle’. It negates the need of having to go to the expense of obtaining various technical reports that are required for outline planning applications.

The PiP procedure is still very much an under-utilised method of obtaining permission for housing developments, so much so that we were responsible for submitting the first approved with both Cotswold District Council and Swindon Borough Council. The Planning Portal does not even have an option to submit a PiP application – they must be submitted directly to the Local Planning Authority.

If you would like more information on PiP applications please do not hesitate to contact Joe Seymour on 01242 895121 or email joe.seymour@mplanning.co.uk

We are now moving from complete lockdown and seeing the reopening of development sites (some never closed). increasingly we are seeing minds are turning to “What now” and a feeling of cautious optimism in the industry.

During lockdown it has been great to witness many LPAs carrying on “business as usual” despite the difficulties. Officers worked from home, planning departments were very much open for accepting and determining applications. We are grateful to them and their efforts as during the lockdown period. During this time we have submitted a number of applications and have already had many successfully determined (one taking a mere 35 days!).

We all know that development projects are complex, take time and managing the planning process is a key part of the process. It takes time to secure planning permission and to have any subsequent pre-commencement conditions discharged. Taking the time now to start the ball rolling will pay dividends in accelerating the realisation of the development potential and we encourage our clients to maximise this opportunity.

Remember – a planning permission can be implemented up to 3 years from date of the decision.

Strategic land (one of our specialist fields of expertise) continues unabated by the current difficulties. Just as time waits for no man, Local Development Schemes and Local Plan Reviews continue.

LPAs assemble and submit their Plans to the Secretary of State for examination. Whilst the Examinations themselves are on hold for the time being, the government has made clear its determination to have up-to-date Local Plans in place by 2023.

Unlike planning applications, strategic land promotion is bound by statutory deadlines, which cannot be missed, lockdown or not.

If you would like to discuss in more detail your development aspirations and how this time can be used positively for the post-lockdown future, do get in touch.

01242 895008 or 0773 6821475

nathan.mcloughlin@mplanning.co.uk

All though lockdown we’ve remained open and here to talk to!

The decision on 14 May by Gloucestershire County Council to grant planning permission for a new secondary school is brilliant news in providing much needed capacity in the secondary school system in Cheltenham.

In saluting the efforts of the Kier-led delivery team to secure the permission, it also highlights the important contribution we’ve made in laying the crucial planning policy foundations for the project.

McLoughlin Planning has been heavily involved in the Cheltenham Borough Local Plan, actively promoting the allocation of site for a school and ensuring there is the appropriately worded planning policy context supporting the allocation of the site.

The Officers Report provides a thorough assessment of the planning policy case from the emerging Local Plan and how considerable weight can be attached to the document, following the publication of the Inspector’s Report confirming the allocation of the school site.

That assessment cites various points advanced by McLoughlin Planning in its Examination in Public submissions and critically, being accepted by the Local Plan Inspector. Given the success of these submissions in securing the allocation of the site in the Local Plan, it provided more weight to the argument that the application should be permitted.

We look forward to watching Kier’s progress in delivering the site, knowing that we played an important part in providing the planning policy foundations for the project.

If you would like to discuss in more detail exactly how we achieved the allocation and how this could be relevant to your projects, please get in touch.

Image: Gloucestershire County Council

The Vale of White Horse District Council has recently launched a call for development sites as part of the review of the Local Plan 2031, which was adopted in December 2016.

A call for sites is an important part of the plan making process as it allows a Local Planning Authority to develop a detailed picture of what potential opportunities can come forward to meet future housing and commercial development requirements as posed by the Local Plan Review.

Whilst the obvious impact is it helps a LPA make a decision about allocating a site, it can also help an Authority with the question of its development strategy and settlement hierarchy, leading to new, previously dismissed opportunities coming forward.

We have considerable experience in this field and have been advising clients on the importance of responding to such exercises and the longer-term opportunities such actions could create.

The Call remains open until Friday 29 May. Please contact us to discuss this opportunity further.

nathan.mcloughlin@mplanning.co.uk. 0773 682 1475

We are open for phone calls, video conferencing and emails, but sadly our offices are closed.

We feel very fortunate that we can work from home, we have all the systems in place to carry on with “business as usual”. Phone numbers remain unchanged and will be maned as usual.

Our priority is to keep our team and their family and friends safe and our thoughts are with everyone in the health service, teachers, shops etc that do not have home working as an option right now.

During this Coronavirus crisis, we would like to emphasise what we can achieve, in maintaining a full service to our clients during this difficult time. This is how we do it:

• Access to resources – National Guidance, Local Plans, Evidence Studies and Planning History are all available on-line. This allows us to fully appraise current strategies as well as advise clients on future opportunities.

• Site visits – Google Earth has been an invaluable tool for understanding a site and its context for a number of years. Whilst it will never replace benefit of a traditional site visit, it allows us to get an idea of a site and its surroundings.

• Video Conferencing – we routinely host video conferences with clients and fellow professionals on projects. Ideas can be shared, just as before.

One of the things we can do is plan for a post-lockdown future. By using the above, we remain open and would actively encourage our clients and contacts to discuss new opportunities, so that we are all ready to make the post of a post-lockdown world. As we’ve seen with Planning for the Future, the Government has some big aspirations for the planning system and we want to make sure that you don’t miss out on the opportunities they will generate.

Please take care everyone, let’s keep talking and keep Britain great.