Acorus South West Team have recently been successful in gaining prior approval for the conversion of buildings to dwellings, utilising Class Q Permitted Development Rights, in both Cornwall and South Gloucestershire.
Associate Laura Wall of the Exeter office, assisted in submitting prior notification submissions to the Councils, for both clients who were looking to find viable re-use for underutilised agricultural buildings on their holdings.
After an initial withdrawn application for a new build dwelling over concerns regarding scale and design, the project in Cornwall was discussed at length with the Council through pre-application consultation. This process looked at the most appropriate route through the planning system and it was determined that the most appropriate route was to look at a conversion of the existing building, rather than a new build replacement, at least initially.
In South Gloucestershire, the proposal was a second submission under Class Q, following an earlier refusal by the Council. Clarification had been provided in relation to the concerns which had been raised previously, and the prior approval was granted, without any major chances to the original scheme.
Both projects involved planning work and drawing input, which Acorus undertook in house, and the applications were monitored to ensure any further queries could be dealt with if they arose.
The Clients are both now looking at the next stages of development, including the potential for a ‘fall-back’ application or progression with obtaining Building Regulations approval.
Details regarding Class Q can be found on our information sheet here.
Please do not hesitate to contact Acorus if you have any planning or design related projects which you would like to discuss.
