GraceMachin Planning & Property were instructed in late 2022 to undertake initial planning consultancy due diligence on a former stable building set within open countryside.

This involved a detailed review of the Adopted Bolsover Local Plan, a check on the planning history which included a previous enforcement case, site visit and a resulting professional planning advice note on a suggested ‘way forward’.

The clients were advised that an application should be supported with a structural survey of the existing building, an ecology report, a sensitive design (taking into account its rural setting) and nearest neighbour (a listed building). Alongside the technical work to support the planning application, GraceMachin Planning & Property produced a Planning Policy Justification Statement. Due to the proposal consisting of the re-use of an existing building in the countryside it was considered against policy SC5.

Furthermore, the proposed development also needed to comply with policy SS9 (Development in the countryside) to be acceptable in principle. The proposal needed to comply with at least one criterion within this policy to be acceptable. The proposed development was presented as being compliant with criteria ‘a’ because the proposed development was and is a change of use and it included the re-use of previously developed land which is sustainable and appropriate to the location.

The development was considered to be sustainable as it reuses a redundant building for a viable use to provide new housing. Whilst new housing is not generally encouraged in the countryside, GraceMachin Planning & Property advised the clients, that the re-use of an existing redundant building can be considered a sustainable form of recycling in accordance with policy SC5.

The clients were overwhelmed with the positive result, reached in Q3 of 2023, as they had always dreamed of being able to live on the site. This permission will allow them to now invest in the long term future of the building with aid of local builders and tradespeople.