Change of use of office building to residential use at Ash View Farm, Glastonbury.
Ash View Farm
At a glance
- Redundant office building with potential for change of use
- Successfully applied to remove a restrictive condition preventing use of permitted development rights
- Subsequently submitted application for change of use of office using Class MA permitted development rights
- Prior approval granted
The Brief
After already successfully applying to remove an agricultural occupancy condition from the house, the client was keen to secure a change of use of the redundant office building previously used in association with a commercial business at the site.
The Result
The planning officers at Mendip District Council (now Somerset Council) confirmed they would not be willing to grant planning permission to convert the office building to a residential dwelling due its limited historic and architectural value. The Class MA permitted development right offers an alternative means by which to secure a change of use from office to residential use, however the office was subject to a planning condition removing its ability to utilise permitted development rights.
Given this context it was first necessary to submit a section 73 application to amend the troublesome planning condition such that the building would benefit from the Class MA permitted development right. This required a robust case to be made that the condition was not necessary to make the use of the office acceptable in planning terms. That application was successful.
This then paved the way for a subsequent application for the change of use of the office to a dwelling using the Class MA permitted development right. This required the submission of plans and supporting evidence to demonstrate that all relevant criteria were satisfied, as well as ongoing dialogue with the planning officer throughout the application process.
Prior approval was subsequently granted by Somerset Council within the statutory time period.
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