The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015

Class Q – agricultural buildings to dwellinghouses E+W

Permitted development E+W

Q.  Development consisting of—

(a) a change of use of a building and any land within its curtilage from a use as an agricultural building to a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order; [F1 or]

(b) [F2 development referred to in paragraph (a) together with] building operations reasonably necessary to convert the building referred to in paragraph (a) to a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of that Schedule.

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.(a) substituted (6.4.2018) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/343), arts. 1, 10(a)

F2 Words in Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.(b) inserted (6.4.2018) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/343), arts. 1, 10(b)

Development not permitted E+W

Q.1  Development is not permitted by Class Q if—

(a) the site was not used solely for an agricultural use as part of an established agricultural unit—

(i) on 20th March 2013, or

(ii) in the case of a building which was in use before that date but was not in use on that date, when it was last in use, or

(iii) in the case of a site which was brought into use after 20th March 2013, for a period of at least 10 years before the date development under Class Q begins;

[F3 (b) in the case of—

(i) a larger dwellinghouse, within an established agricultural unit—

(aa) the cumulative number of separate larger dwellinghouses developed under Class Q exceeds 3; or

(bb) the cumulative floor space of the existing building or buildings changing use to a larger dwellinghouse or dwellinghouses under Class Q exceeds 465 square metres;

[F4 (ba) the floor space of any dwellinghouse developed under Class Q having a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order exceeds 465 square metres;]

(c) in the case of—

(i) a smaller dwellinghouse, within an established agricultural unit—

(aa) the cumulative number of separate smaller dwellinghouses developed under Class Q exceeds 5; or

(bb) the floor space of any one separate smaller dwellinghouse having a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order exceeds 100 square metres;

(d) the development under Class Q (together with any previous development under Class Q) within an established agricultural unit would result in either or both of the following—

(i) a larger dwellinghouse or larger dwellinghouses having more than 465 square metres of floor space having a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order;

(ii) the cumulative number of separate dwellinghouses having a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order exceeding 5;

(e) the site is occupied under an agricultural tenancy, unless the express consent of both the landlord and the tenant has been obtained;

(f) less than 1 year before the date development begins—

(i) an agricultural tenancy over the site has been terminated, and

(ii) the termination was for the purpose of carrying out development under Class Q,

unless both the landlord and the tenant have agreed in writing that the site is no longer required for agricultural use;

(g) development under Class A(a) or Class B(a) of Part 6 of this Schedule (agricultural buildings and operations) has been carried out on the established agricultural unit—

(i) since 20th March 2013; or

(ii) where development under Class Q begins after 20th March 2023, during the period which is 10 years before the date development under Class Q begins;

(h) the development would result in the external dimensions of the building extending beyond the external dimensions of the existing building at any given point;]

(i) the development under Class Q(b) would consist of building operations other than—

(i) the installation or replacement of—

(aa) windows, doors, roofs, or exterior walls, or

(bb) water, drainage, electricity, gas or other services,

to the extent reasonably necessary for the building to function as a dwellinghouse; and

(ii) partial demolition to the extent reasonably necessary to carry out building operations allowed by paragraph Q.1(i)(i);

(j) the site is on article 2(3) land;

(k) the site is, or forms part of—

(i) a site of special scientific interest;

(ii) a safety hazard area;

(iii) a military explosives storage area;

(l) the site is, or contains, a scheduled monument; or

(m) the building is a listed building.

Textual Amendments

F3 Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.1(b)-(h) substituted (6.4.2018) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/343), arts. 1, 10(c)

F4 Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.1(ba) inserted (25.5.2019) by The Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development, Advertisement and Compensation Amendments) (England) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/907), regs. 1(2), 8

Conditions E+W

Q.2—(1) Where the development proposed is development under Class Q(a) together with development under Class Q(b), development is permitted subject to the condition that before beginning the development, the developer must apply to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether the prior approval of the authority will be required as to—

(a) transport and highways impacts of the development,

(b) noise impacts of the development,

(c) contamination risks on the site,

(d) flooding risks on the site,

(e) whether the location or siting of the building makes it otherwise impractical or undesirable for the building to change from agricultural use to a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order, F5 ...

(f) the design or external appearance of the building [F6 , and]

[F7 (g) the provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms of the dwellinghouses,]

and the provisions of paragraph W (prior approval) of this Part apply in relation to that application.

(2) Where the development proposed is development under Class Q(a) only, development is permitted subject to the condition that before beginning the development, the developer must apply to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether the prior approval of the authority will be required as to the items referred to in sub-paragraphs (1)(a) to (e) [F8 and (g),] and the provisions of paragraph W (prior approval) of this Part apply in relation to that application.

(3) Development under Class Q is permitted subject to the condition that development under Class Q(a), and under Class Q(b), if any, must be completed within a period of 3 years starting with the prior approval date.

Textual Amendments

F5 Word in Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.2(1)(e) omitted (1.8.2020) by virtue of The Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development and Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/632), regs. 1(2), 17(a) (with reg. 27)

F6 Word in Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.2(1)(f) inserted (1.8.2020) by The Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development and Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/632), regs. 1(2), 17(b) (with reg. 27)

F7 Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.2(1)(g) inserted (1.8.2020) by The Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development and Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/632), regs. 1(2), 17(c) (with reg. 27)

F8 Words in Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.2(2) inserted (1.8.2020) by The Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development and Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/632), regs. 1(2), 17(d) (with reg. 27)

[F9 Interpretation of Class Q E+W

Q.3.   For the purposes of Class Q—

“larger dwellinghouse” means a dwellinghouse developed under Class Q which has a floor space of more than 100 square metres and no more than 465 square metres having a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order;

“smaller dwellinghouse” means a dwellinghouse developed under Class Q which has a floor space of no more than 100 square metres having a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order.]

Textual Amendments

F9 Sch. 2 Pt. 3 Class Q para. Q.3 inserted (6.4.2018) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/343), arts. 1, 10(d)