DMW Architects are currently working on the conversion of an existing redundant farm building into 3 dwellings in Aylesbury. The conversion is being implemented under Class Q Permitted Development rights which were introduced in 2014 as part of the government’s drive to ease the pressure on housing in rural areas.
The regulations state:
- You can create up to three dwellings when converting existing buildings using a total floor space of 450sqm.
- You cannot extend the building beyond its existing external dimensions and the garden area cannot be any bigger than the footprint of the building itself.
- You can install or replace windows, doors, the roof, exterior walls, water, drainage, electricity, gas and other services to the extent that they are ‘reasonably necessary’ for the building to be used as a home.
- As long as it is ‘reasonably necessary’, you can undertake partial demolition.
- The regulations do not allow the introduction of new foundations or loadbearing floor slabs and you may also find it difficult to add a first floor. A structural appraisal will often be required to check that the current structure can support the conversion – if it can’t, you’ll have to go through the full planning process.
Over the past 18 months we have successfully worked on a number of these projects and enjoy the challenge of converting these redundant and sometimes unusual structures into unique dwellings.
Please contact us for advice if you seek to convert your unused agricultural structures into residential use and we will advise you on your options.
