Farm & Agricultural Planning Consultants
Farms have more planning freedom than most land, but the rules are technical and easy to get wrong. Permitted development, prior notifications, barn conversions and rural workers' dwellings each have their own tests. Urban Vista Planning's Chartered Town Planners help farmers and landowners choose the right route, build the evidence and secure consent, from a single building to a whole-farm diversification plan.
We Help With
What We Help With
- New agricultural buildings and prior notifications
- Livestock buildings, slurry stores and manure handling
- Class Q barn conversions to homes
- Class R conversions to farm shops, offices, workshops and storage
- Rural workers' dwellings and temporary dwellings
- Removing or varying agricultural occupancy conditions
- Farm diversification: holiday lets, glamping, campsites and farm shops
- Farm reservoirs, irrigation and drainage works
- Anaerobic digestion and on-farm processing
- Biodiversity gain sites and BNG units on farmland
- Lawful development certificates and enforcement
- Appeals and refused applications
Who We Work With
- →Farmers expanding or modernising their holdings
- →Estates and landowners planning diversification
- →Families bringing the next generation into the farm
- →Owners of redundant barns and farm buildings
- →Land agents and surveyors needing planning input
- →Landowners approached by developers or promoters
Keeping horses or running a livery? See our equestrian planning service. Farm attractions, padel and other leisure diversification are covered by sport and leisure planning.
The Issues That Decide Farm Applications
National policy supports a prosperous rural economy, but councils still refuse farm proposals that pick the wrong route or lack evidence. These are the points we get right first.
Choosing the right route
Permitted development, prior approval or full permission. The wrong route wastes months, and a refused prior approval can be harder to come back from.
Agricultural need
Showing a building is reasonably necessary for agriculture, or that a rural worker must live on site, with evidence the council will accept.
Landscape and protected areas
National Landscapes, National Parks and conservation areas remove some permitted development rights and raise the bar on design.
Access and neighbours
Highway safety, farm traffic and the 400 metre rule for livestock buildings. Our in-house highways team (MCIHT) covers access.
Rural Planning Guides
Farm Planning: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need planning permission for a new farm building?
Often not, but you usually need to notify the council first. Part 6 of the General Permitted Development Order allows buildings reasonably necessary for agriculture on holdings of 5 hectares or more, up to 1,500 square metres of ground area (1,000 square metres for livestock buildings), subject to a prior notification so the council can decide whether it needs to approve the siting, design and appearance. Smaller holdings have more limited rights. Buildings within 25 metres of a trunk or classified road are excluded, and livestock or slurry buildings within 400 metres of a protected building, such as a neighbour's house, generally are too, so check the rules before building.
Can I convert a barn into a house under Class Q?
Class Q allows agricultural buildings to be converted into up to 10 homes, with a maximum of 1,000 square metres in total and 150 square metres per home, subject to prior approval on transport, noise, contamination, flood risk, location and design. The building must have been part of an agricultural unit on 24 July 2023 or before. Class Q does not apply in National Parks, National Landscapes, conservation areas, or to listed buildings, and the building must be capable of conversion without what amounts to a rebuild. Where Class Q does not apply, full planning permission may still be possible.
Can I use a farm building for a business without planning permission?
Class R allows up to 1,000 square metres of agricultural buildings on a holding to change to a range of commercial uses, including shops, offices, storage, light industry, outdoor sport and recreation, and some processing of produce grown on the farm. The council must be notified first, and above 150 square metres prior approval is needed on transport, noise, contamination and flood risk. Uses outside the class, or new buildings, need planning permission.
Can I build a house on my farm?
National policy resists isolated new homes in the countryside, but makes an exception where there is an essential need for a rural worker to live permanently at or near their place of work, including someone taking majority control of a farm business. You will need to show a functional need and a financially sound enterprise, and for new enterprises councils often grant a temporary dwelling first. Occupancy conditions usually tie the home to rural workers.
Can I run a campsite or glamping site on my farm?
A pop-up campsite for tents, campervans and motorhomes can run for up to 60 days a year with up to 50 pitches under permitted development, after notifying the council. Flood Zone 2 or 3 sites need prior approval. Permanent glamping pods, shepherd's huts and holiday lets need planning permission, where landscape, access and the link to the farm business are the main issues.
Is farmland in the Green Belt more likely to get permission now?
Agricultural and forestry buildings remain appropriate development in the Green Belt. For other uses, national policy now allows some development on grey belt land, which is Green Belt land that does not strongly contribute to certain Green Belt purposes. Farmland next to settlements or previously developed land may qualify, so it is worth an assessment before you decide what to promote.
Can I sell biodiversity units from my farmland?
Yes. Land can be registered as a biodiversity gain site and the units sold to developers who need off-site Biodiversity Net Gain. The habitat must be created or enhanced and secured for at least 30 years by a conservation covenant or a planning obligation with the council. We advise on the planning side, including the legal agreement and whether any of the works themselves need permission.
Planning Something on Your Farm?
Book a free initial consultation with a Chartered Town Planner. We'll tell you whether you need permission, which route gives the best result and what evidence the council will expect.
Book a Free Consultation