Farmers Weekly Business Clinic: do planning delays mean I can erect new sheep shed?

A farmer has applied for planning permission to replace an old sheep shed with a larger model on his 200-acre farm in the Pembrokeshire National Park.

 

Almost four months after the application was submitted, the local planning authority (LPA) informed the farmer there had been no objections and that written approval would be granted.

After a further five weeks of non-contact, the LPA contacted the farmer to say that an objection had been received, and that the new shed would need to be erected in a less convenient location.

With six months having elapsed since the initial application was submitted - and attempts to challenge the LPA’s ruling having been ignored - what should the increasingly frustrated farmer do next?

Writing for Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic, planning and environment solicitor Rebecca Stanton discusses the options available to the farmer - including appealing the LPA’s decision and the possibility of making a fresh application - and explains the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on planning applications.

To discuss this matter further, please contact Rebecca Stanton or other members of Thrings’ specialist Agriculture or Planning teams.


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