Planning permission granted for a barn conversion in Chelmsford
We are delighted to have secured planning permission for the conversion of a barn in Chelmsford, Essex to a residential dwelling.
The Barn’s Site and Surroundings
The existing farmyard actually comprised three agricultural barns, however our brief was to only to create a single dwelling, incorporating each of the buildings where appropriate. An appraisal of the site was necessary and carried out to establish the appropriate planning and design strategy for the site.
The Planning Application Approach to this Barn Conversion
The scale and amount of agricultural buildings on site exceeded the conversion allowances under Class Q of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.
Consequently, a planning application for the conversion was found to be necessary and as such this application would have to be assessed in accordance with Chelmsford City Council’s adopted development policies, the National Planning Policy Framework and other material considerations.
Barn Conversions and The Green Belt
The main policy constraint in this instance related to the sites location in the Green Belt. The NPPF and local planning policy does allow the re-use of buildings in the Green Belt, provided that the openness of the Green Belt is preserved and that the buildings can be demonstrated to be of permanent and substantial construction, and the works to convert the building would not result in substantial reconstruction.
The Barn Conversion’s Design Challenge
The main design challenge in this case was to create a residential dwelling and residential complex, whilst also preserving the openness of the Green Belt. We achieved this by:
Providing a contemporary design that maximises light into the main barn, but still respecting the building’s historic agricultural form and function.
Removal of a bulky barn building and its replacement with an appropriate designed, but smaller building, to be used for ancillary purposes to the main dwelling.
Retention of the final barn to create additional ancillary and incidental space for the main dwelling, including a home-office, gym, and workshop.
An appropriate landscaping strategy that functionally establishes the residential curtilage, linking each of the buildings together and creates an appropriate garden area.
Once the application was submitted, we engaged positively with the planning officer, who we met on site and had regular discussions with.
We are pleased that Chelmsford City Council supported the vision for the site and agreed that the design proposal successfully met with national and local planning policy.
From our experience, a barn conversion project requires good planning from the start. Our architects and planners process the key skills, experience and practical knowledge to realise a barn conversion from initial concept, through the planning process and on to completion.
Are you Planning a Planning Conversion?
ADP is an architecture, design and planning practice and we are experienced in obtaining planning permission for variety of projects such as barn conversions, replacement dwellings, self-build dwellings etc. Feel free to contact the team via mail@adpltd.co.uk or by using the form below:
