160m2 Farm Worker’s Dwelling Approved

Bloomfields are delighted to report that we have successfully obtained planning permission for a new permanent agricultural occupancy conditioned dwelling to support a beef and lamb enterprise.

Our client runs a long standing farm business covering about 4,000 acres, however the proposal was submitted on the basis that a separate AOW dwelling was required to purely support the essential needs of a separate, standalone and self-sufficient holding of about 165 acres. This separate holding was used for the rearing of young beef stock and for laming and the functional test had to be satisfied on this basis only, excluding the rest of the client’s farm business operations.

Usually, the route to achieving a new AOC dwelling is via an initial application for a temporary dwelling (mobile or static home, a temporary lodge or cabin, etc) for a three year period, before then submitting an application for a permanent ‘bricks and mortar’ dwelling after this three year period has elapsed. This is usually the case for ‘start up’ farm businesses or where the farm’s profitability may not be quite sufficient for it to pass the ‘financial test’. In this case, however, the new dwelling was for a fourth generation family farmer and so the application had a high quality historical pedigree to it. Nevertheless, the financial test still needs to be satisfied on the 165 acres. Through the submission of forensically drafted gross margins, budgets, business plans and cashflow forecasts, the local authority were satisfied that this separate business enterprise was financially sound and there was no reason to see anything to the contrary was provided to the council. As a result, the submission was approved swiftly and only a few weeks beyond the eight week determination period.

Architect – Russel Brown, Bloomfields