Prior approval for agricultural buildings in England
Many new barns and farm buildings don't need a full planning application. On a farm of 5 hectares or more they can be permitted development under Part 6, Class A of the General Permitted Development Order — you tell the council first and it decides within 28 days whether it wants to approve the siting and appearance.
Check my farm building for freeWho can use it
- An agricultural unit of 5 hectares or more, farmed for a business.
- The building must be reasonably necessary for agriculture on that unit and designed for farming.
- It can't be on a separate parcel of land under 1 hectare.
- Not if a farm building here was changed to a house or other use under Class Q or S in the last 10 years.
The limits (Class A, A.1)
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Ground area of the building | Up to 1,500 m², counting other buildings put up within 90 m in the previous 2 years |
| Height | Up to 12 m (3 m within 3 km of an aerodrome) |
| Roads | No part within 25 m of the metalled part of a trunk or classified road |
| Livestock, slurry or sewage sludge | Not within 400 m of a protected building (a house or occupied building not on the farm) |
| Houses | Never a dwelling |
| Scheduled monuments | Not on or within the curtilage of one |
How prior approval works
- Send the council a prior notification: a description of the building, its materials and a site plan, with the fee.
- Wait. You can start when the council says prior approval isn't needed, gives approval, or 28 days pass without a decision.
- If it does want to approve the details, a site notice goes up for 21 days and it judges the siting, design and external appearance.
- Build it as described within 5 years, and tell the council in writing within 7 days of finishing.
- If farming use stops within 10 years, the building normally has to be removed.
Smaller farms (0.4 to 5 hectares)
Class B lets farms of 0.4 to 5 ha extend or alter an existing farm building — up to 25% more cubic content, no higher, no new building more than 30 m away, at least 5 m from the farm boundary and no more than 1,250 m² in all. A brand new building on a farm under 5 ha needs full planning permission.
Check your own building
Auto Shed Plans checks all of this for you. Find your farm on the aerial map, draw the building and pick its style — the ground area, height, distance to classified roads, distance to houses for livestock buildings and any airfield within 3 km are measured automatically from the map. It then writes the supporting statement and draws the plans and elevations for the notification.
Open the free checker