Residential and flexible commercial use

Residential

• Change of use of agricultural or forestry buildings to a house including replacement windows, doors, roof and exterior walls
• Install water, drainage and other services
• Provide access and parking
• Partial but not complete demolition

Flexible Commercial Uses

• Change of use of agricultural or forestry buildings to a flexible commercial use or change one flexible commercial use to another
• Replacement windows, doors, roof and exterior walls
• Install water, drainage and other services
• Provide access and parking
• Partial but not complete demolition
• Flexible commercial use is :
• Class 1 (retail), 2 (financial, professional and other services), 3 (food and drink not including hot food for takeaway), 4 (business), 6 (storage and distribution) and 10 (non-residential institutions)
• A flexible commercial use is a sui generis use so any change of use from a flexible commercial use to another flexible commercial use needs another prior notification and a change of use from a flexible commercial use to a use that is not a flexible commercial use is likely to need planning permission

What you can't do

The following limitations apply;

• The building you are applying to convert must have been in agricultural or forestry use on 4 November 2019 or last used for that purpose;
• The building must be suitable for conversion;
• The floor space must not exceed 150sqm for residential conversions and 500sqm for flexible commercial uses.  Partial conversion is not allowed;
• No more than 5 units are permitted in one agricultural holding or within 1 converted forestry building;
• The development must not extend beyond the existing external dimensions of the building;
• The building must not be sited on croft land (this does not apply in relation to flexible commercial uses) must not be listed or within the curtilage of a listed building, be a site of archaeological interest or a within a safety hazard area;
• You should be aware that most householder permitted development rights (i.e extensions, sheds etc) do not apply to houses created under class 18B and 22A

Permitted Development rights may not apply if the land is a covered by a designation such as National Scenic Area (NSA), Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or a Special Protection Area (SPA).

What we consider

The matters we consider when assessing a prior notification or prior approval are as follows:

• the design or external appearance of the building,
• the provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms of the dwelling,
• the impacts of the proposed development on transport,
• access to the dwelling,
• the impacts of noise on residents or occupiers of the building if used as a dwelling,
• risks to occupiers of the proposed dwelling from contamination from the site and
• the risk of flooding of the site.

For flexible commercial uses these are:

• the design or external appearance of the building,
• the impacts of the proposed development on transport,
• access to the building,
• the impacts of noise on those using the building or as a result of the development,
• risks to those using the building from contamination from the site and
• the risk of flooding of the site

Please make sure that you provide sufficient information to cover all these matters.

What you need

The following must accompany every application for prior notification:

• Application form (please note that the correct form is not currently available though the planning portal)
• Fee
• Location Plan (1:2500 or 1:5000) - this must show the building in the context of the wider area.  The application site must be outlined in red and any adjoining land in the same ownership should be outlined in blue.  
• Farm plan (where the application relates to the conversion of a farm building) - A dated plan that includes SGRPID Farm Unit Plan with agricultural holding number and identifies any other units that have already been converted under these classes.
• Site plan 1:500 or 1:200
• Existing and proposed elevations
• Existing and proposed floor plans

Development permitted under this class must be carried out within 3 years with the date of determination.