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Brace of Barns

Wed 25 September 2019

Planning Permission for a Brace of Barns

After successfully helping clients to realise the potential of their assets YoungsRPS bring two traditional Yorkshire Dales barns to the market.

As YoungsRPS, Chartered Surveyors and Property Consultants, bring to the market two unique barn developments in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Paul McGee Rural Chartered Surveyor, shares his experience on the opportunities for re-purposing an old barn.  However, as Paul explains, landowners should seek advice on what can be a complex process with many pitfalls along the way:

“There are dis-used barns and buildings across the Dales and other rural locations for which planning permission could be obtained for unique developments, with obvious financial benefits to their owners, but the right advice is crucial to assess feasibility and increase chances of success.

“Securing planning permission to develop a barn in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is not a simple task. There will be many potential obstacles and issues to overcome, so preparation is key.”

Here Paul provides some advice on the things that need to be taken into account when considering such a project and to maximise chances of planning success.

  • Location - is the location of the barn suitable and sustainable? In the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the barn must usually be in close proximity to a settlement and a road.   A barn well-positioned for these is much more likely to have success than a barn in an isolated location.
  • Access – is there good visibility for cars onto the road? There are strict criteria applied in relation to visibility and sight lines.
  • Condition - what is the condition of the barn?  Planning permission will usually only be considered if the barn is in a sound condition and is capable of being converted without being substantially rebuilt.
  • Bats and Owls – are there bats and owls living in the barn? A survey to identify their presence will need to be completed as part of the application and if bats or owls are found, appropriate measures will need to be taken to protect them.
  • Flooding - is the barn in a flood zone? An application can be more arduous if a barn is in a flood zone area and a flood risk assessment will need to be conducted.
  • Design - what design do you have in mind? This of course is very important, and conversions need to be totally sympathetic to the surroundings and the building itself.  It is especially worth noting that new openings and extensions are generally not looked on favourably.

Paul adds: “Once you have taken all of these considerations into account this will make the process simpler and the chances of success will be greater.”

YoungRPS offer an end-to-end service for the development of rural properties including assessing buildings for its suitability for change of use, designing the proposed development to replace what exists, supporting the client through the complex planning process and once approved, marketing the approved property.

YoungsRPS are currently selling two barns in the Yorkshire Dales National Park ready for conversion. These barns are on estates managed by Paul, who identified the potential opportunity to “add value” through obtaining planning consent and who has carefully seen the process through from start to finish.

The two traditional barns each have planning permission for conversion to three-bedroom local occupancy dwellings or holiday lets. Manor Farm Barn (once part of Manor Farm, located in the prestigious hamlet of Thorlby close to Skipton,) is the larger of the two at almost 200 square metres GIA and is being offered at a guide price of £190,000.  Tom’s Barn at Appersett near Hawes, named after a local man Tom Dinsdale, sits in a 1,200 square metres plot and is being offered at a guide price of £100,000.