Do you have a barn conversion you’d like to extend?
Well, good news for your architect because he or she must help you. Almost all the problems with extending a barn conversion lie in local authority approvals.
Saunders Brothers have a wealth of experience in barn conversions and we’d be well qualified to build almost any extension to one, but we can’t build anything until it’s been designed and approved.
Let’s look at your barn conversion
Firstly, was it a Class Q conversion? Many barns can be converted into homes without formal planning permission and many have been. A Certificate of Prior Approval, issued by the planning authority, is all that’s required for a Class Q conversion (it’s much less demanding than full planning approval in terms of detail to be submitted and what objections could be raised). The Class Q right to convert barns does not apply to all projects, and the regulations are complex. However, we are discussing extensions to barns, not new barn conversions here, so we needn’t go into the detail of the Class Q requirements.
Extending a Class Q barn conversion
Until last summer (21st May, 2024), Class Q barn conversions could not be extended at all, but now, you can add a single storey rear extension (completely at the rear of the building and not sticking out at the ends), that is built on existing hardstanding laid before 24th July 2023 and doesn’t extend more than 4m from the existing rear wall.
This is the only right to extend a Class Q barn conversion. However good the design for an extension may be, however closely it follows planning policy, it cannot be approved for a Class Q barn conversion.
What about barns that have been converted under full plans planning approval?
There’s no blanket limit on extending these, but you’re not going to get carte blanche. Planning committees have discretion and it’s their job to use it on behalf of the local people, who in general prefer converted barns to retain their rustic character. It’s also the planning committee’s job of course, to approve good quality applications, such as those that respect and harmonise with the surroundings, those that preserve the character of the building and that aren’t going to cause congestion on the road with parked cars, or harm local wildlife.
A well-designed plan for an extension of a barn conversion that was originally built under full plans planning approval, should get permission to proceed. It doesn’t mean you’ll always get approval but there is no regulation against it in principle.
So what next?
Assuming your extension gets approved, you now also need Building Regulations approval. There are 18 Building Regulations that cover pretty much all aspects of building and won’t all apply to your project, but you must substantiate, with drawings and calculations, how your scheme complies with all that do apply. Once you have Building Regulations approval, your project can go ahead, and we builders come into our own.
Saunders Brothers
We’ll help you whenever we can, but we’re not architects, we’re builders – builders with a wealth of successful experience of barn conversions – and now that your architect and/or your structural engineer have completed the design work, we can see what’s to be built, and can work out a price and a timeframe. We’re bound to have questions and will very likely be able to help with some answers, possibly suggesting improvements in “buildability” (designers are legally bound to consider how their designs can be built safely and a builder’s experience can be helpful with this), but this is detail: the main design task has been done by the architect, the structural engineer and the draughtsman.
To summarise
If your barn conversion was built under the Class Q provision, you can now have a single storey rear extension (not sticking out at all beyond the width of the existing building and built on existing hardstanding), not more than 4m. deep from front to back. It will need Building Regulations approval of course, and you will need a Certificate of Prior Approval from your local planning authority but, provided it complies with Class Q extension requirements, you have the right to build it, once you’ve got your Certificate of Prior Approval.
If your barn conversion was built under full plans planning approval, your application for your extension will be treated just like any other planning application, but you must expect the planning authority to place great importance on retaining the character of the building, harmonising with its surroundings and respecting the rural environment and wildlife.
We’d love to hear from you
Saunders Brothers’ main contribution to your project will be after the design is complete, but we would love to hear from you earlier on in your project too. We’ll always be pleased to give any help we can, whether in the extension of a barn conversion or any other building project.
By the way
Class Q regulations aren’t relevant to this blog, but we do know and understand them. If you have a barn (or other agricultural building) that you want to convert, do please get in touch. We’re not architects and won’t pretend to be, but if we can help with any questions you may have, we’ll be pleased to give whatever advice we can.
Comments