Planning permission
Change of use • Building new stables
QI have just bought a farm with barns and outbuildings, set in 60 acres of land. Where do I stand with changing the use of one of the existing barns into a private indoor arena for exercising my horses? If I wanted to allow others to hire the space in the future, would I need to do anything differently? The property is not within a National Park. Sam Nichols, Cleveland
Fenella says… Not being within a National Park makes this process slightly more straightforward. However, if the planning status of your new farm currently describes its use as purely ‘agricultural’, which it presumably does, then yes, you will require planning permission for change of use of this barn. Its use will become ‘equestrian’ instead.
Future-proofing
If you are thinking of hiring out the arena in the future there are other factors to consider, as the change of use would be classed as a ‘commercial equestrian use’ rather than ‘private equestrian use’ — at which point you would be required to pay business rates.
It would be prudent to find out what these will be and whether or not hiring out the arena is financially viable, depending on how often you expect to hire it out and what you expect to make.
Commercial complexities
Should you decide that the commercial use is the best way forward, it may be sensible to apply for this status immediately rather than approaching the change of use in two stages.
A whole array of further issues will need to be considered for commercial use, for example, the effect on traffic in the area, the quality of the road into the property, parking space, the availability of turning circles on the property and so on.
Effectively, the red line that is required on your location plan to clearly label the site for which you are seeking planning permission is likely to increase from just involving the building itself, to including all the land around it and possibly even the road in.