Difference sources of planning law and which takes precedence?

Sarah491

Hi All,

I have been quoted 2 sources of planning law in respect of an "agriculture shed".

Farm has been existing 30 plus years as a cattle farm but now want to do a change of use.

Planning sought for agriculture shed in 2009 when operating as a cattle farm. Now changing activity to a pig farm.

Planning and Development Act, 2000 states that agriculture” includes ... the breeding and keeping of livestock (including any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land).

S.I. No. 600/2001 - Planning and Development Regulations, 2001 categories category 6 for cattle and category 7 for pigs.

Thanks,
Sarah

ittakestwo

If you recieved PP for the shed to be used for "agricultural" purposes then you are not changing its use by using for pigs instead of cows.

Peregrinus

The bit about class 6 and class 7 developments that you quote is from the provisions of the Planning Regs dealing with exempt developments (i.e. developments for which you don't need planning permission).

Class 6 development is the provision of a shed or similar structure for housing cattle, sheep, goats, etc. This is an exempt development - i.e. you don't need planning permission - provided a number of conditions are satisfied, one of which is that the floor area does not exceed 200 sq m. Another is that the structure is not used for any purpose other than "agriculture" (which is defined in the Act, as you correctly point out.)

Class 7 is similar, except that it's a shed for housing pigs, mink or poultry. This time the floor area must not exceed 75 sq m. The "must not be used for any purpose other than agriculture" condition applies.

Right. Suppose I want to build a 100 sq m shed for my pigs. That's not an exempt development, so I apply for and obtain planning permission. A few years later, I get tired of pigs and want to repurpose the shed for housing cows. The change of use of the shed is a "development", but it's a exempt development if the conditions set out in class 6 are satisfied. The shed is less than 200 sq m, and in housing cows it will still be used for agriculture, so those two conditions are satisfied. Assuming the other conditions of class 6 are also satisfied I can make the change, and I do not need planning permission.

But obviously this would not work the other way around. If I build a 100 sq m shed for my cows, that's a class 6 development, exempt. But if I want to covert it into a pig-shed, that's not an exempt class 7 development, because the shed is too big for class 7. So I will need planning permission.

Right. In this case you say that planning permission was sought in 2009 (when the shed was built, presumably), which tells us that, even when intended as a cattle shed, this was not an exempt development. It did not satisfy at least one of the conditions of class 6. We don't know which class 6 condition(s) it breached, but it doesn't really matter. If it breached one or more of the class 6 conditions it is unlikely to satisfy all of the conditions of class 7, which are similar or stricter. So repurposing it as a pig-shed is not an exempt development. You need planning permission.

But do you need a new planning permission, or is the use of the shed to house pigs already authorised by the planning permission you have already got? We can't answer the question without reading the planning permission from end to end. The fact that it authorises use for agriculture (which includes the farming of pigs) doesn't mean that it might not contain some other condition or provision which would be breached by using it to house pigs; you need to look at all the terms and conditions of the permission you already have to decide if it permits you to do what you now want to do.