Diversification special: Planning changes farmers need to watch out for
Farmers planning diversification projects need to be aware of recent changes in the planning system.
Abel Bunu, senior planner at land and property professionals Robinson and Hall, outlined what farmers need to know.
COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY (CIL) REGULATIONS
AMENDMENTS came into force on September 1 and the Government believed these would make the system of developer contributions simpler.
These amendments were intended to make it faster to introduce or amend CIL, give authorities more flexibility and make it fairer.
Mr Bunu said the changes would help developers better understand how CIL contributions will impact a project’s financial viability.
CONSULTATIONS ON DRAFT GUIDANCE ON MEASUREMENT OF LAND
DRAFT guidance on the measurement of land has recently been commissioned by the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors as it looked to provide worldwide consistency.
The consultation ran until September 17 and proposed five definitions of the global measurement of land:
■ Land area: Refers to the legal title area of land
■ Site area: The area of land used for planning application purposes
■ Net development area: The area from which financial value is directly derived, either income-producing or for sale
■ Plot ratio: The ratio of Gross External Area (GEA) of a building or buildings at each floor area, under the International Property Measurement Standards
■ Site coverage: The ratio of the building footprint’s GEA to the site area at ground floor level
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PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
A SIGNIFICANT judgement was recently passed by the High Court confirming local planning authorities do not have the power to delay prior approval for barn conversions.
In the Warren Farm (Wokingham) Limited vs. Wokingham Borough Council case, the council requested
an extension to determine the application before refusing it, but the judge concluded the effect of time passing without a judgement meant it could proceed.
Mr Bunu said this was important as authorities would be aware of the consequences of delaying decisions on prior notification applications, meaning they needed to be prioritised and speed up the process.
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