Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 28 September 2021 by C McDonagh BA (Hons) MA MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 9 November 2021 Appeal Ref: APP/A2335/W/21/3273827 Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Cowan Bridge, Carnforth LA6 2JJ • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant approval required under Schedule 2, Part 3, Class Q of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. • The appeal is made by Robin Caton against the decision of Lancaster City Council. • The application Ref 20/01090/PAA, dated 8 October 2020, was refused by notice dated 18 November 2020. • The development proposed is the change of use of an agricultural building to a dwellinghouse (C3). Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. I have taken the description of development from the Council’s decision notice, as there was no description given in the application form. 3. A revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework (March 2021) (the Framework) has been published since the appeal was lodged.

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — Appeal Decision I am satisfied that the revisions to the Framework do not prejudice the positions of the parties in respect of the issues raised in this appeal, insofar as it is relevant to the development and prior approval matters, so it has not been necessary to seek further comments on this change. 4. The appeal proposal relates to an application submitted pursuant to Class Q(a) and (b) of Part 3, Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (the GPDO). Class Q(a) permits the change of use of a building and any land within its curtilage from a use as an agricultural building to a use falling within Class C3 (dwellinghouses) of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order. In addition, Class Q(b) permits building operations reasonably necessary to convert the building. Main Issues 5. The main issues are whether the location of the building is undesirable and whether the proposed design and external appearance would harm the character and appearance of the host building. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/A2335/W/21/3273827 Reasons Whether an Undesirable Location 6. The appeal site comprises a stone built agricultural barn located in open countryside. There is a considerable distance to the nearest road, Low House Lane, whereby a field gate provides access. The character of the surrounding area is intrinsically rural, with the countryside surrounding the appeal site comprising a patchwork of agricultural fields bound by traditional dry stone walls and punctuated by individual farmsteads and areas of woodland. 7. The Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) advises a decision maker should apply a reasonable ordinary dictionary definition in making any judgment as to whether a proposal submitted under Class Q is undesirable or impractical. In the context of this case, undesirable reflects whether the location would be ‘harmful’ or ‘objectionable’. 8. The proposed conversion would introduce domestic use into a largely undeveloped, tranquil and exposed landscape setting that would be entirely at odds with its intrinsic rural character.

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — Appeal Decision Despite there being no extensions proposed to the building, the resulting dwelling would inevitably include a range of domestic features and paraphernalia associated with general residential occupation, including the parking of vehicles, a formalised curtilage, children’s toys and garden furniture. 9. Furthermore, while an existing track is referred to in the appellant’s evidence and shown on the submitted plans running between Low House Lane and the barn, from my observations this track is not suitable for regular use by domestic vehicles. It appears as nothing more than wheel tracks worn into the grass by larger agricultural vehicles with some sections filled with stones/hardcore. As such, to facilitate domestic use this would require a substantial amount of hard surface material to be laid in a long section along the field wall from the highway to the host building. This would be compounded by the requirement for a further significant area of hardstanding at the field entrance to enable a safe and suitable access and gravel at the building for the parking of vehicles. 10.

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — Appeal Decision As the appellant suggests, the PPG makes clear that the Class Q permitted development right does not apply a test in relation to the sustainability of a location. In this case, the Council has not applied this locational test but clearly assessed the proposal in terms of is effect on the character and appearance of the area. 11. My attention is drawn to several other barn conversions allowed by the Council under Class Q proposals. I have little information on these and have not been provided with the relative application documents. As such I cannot be certain of how they relate to the proposal before me other than their relative locations. I note they are further from the highway than the proposal before me and that it is asserted that they are more isolated than the barn subject to this appeal. Be that as it may, I am duty bound to assess the proposal on its own merits. Accordingly, their existence does not convince me the proposal is acceptable on this basis alone. 12. As such, I find that the current proposal would stand out as a discordant and incongruous feature that would harmfully interrupt the character and https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/A2335/W/21/3273827 appearance of the surrounding rural landscape. In doing so, the siting of the proposed dwelling at this location would be harmful and therefore ‘undesirable’ in planning terms. Design and External Appearance of the Host Building 13. The appeal building is a simple structure formed of a larger main section and a later addition consisting of adjoining lean-to extension. The roof is formed of modern metal cladding to the longer side and stone slates to the short side. At the time of my visit the walls and roof seemed to in a good condition. 14. Section Q(1)(i)(i)(aa) of the GPDO allows for the installation or replacement of windows, doors, roofs, or exterior walls to the extent reasonably necessary for the building to function as a dwellinghouse. It is proposed to incorporate a mix of new openings and re-open some previously blocked to create the necessary fenestration and doorways to facilitate the conversion. 15. The existing barn has a number of clear panels in the roof allowing light in. Given this the proposed rooflights, which are of similar size, would not be out of character.

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — Appeal Decision A new double width door with glazed side panels would replace the existing wooden barn door to the west elevation, while new window openings are proposed to the north side. Generally speaking, the number of openings added to the building and their size have been kept to a sensible scale to ensure light is provided to habitable rooms. The irregular shape and size of the windows and the high solid to void ratio they would maintain would ensure that the building retains its agricultural character and ensure a sensitive design. 16. The Council indicates that the barn is a non-designated heritage asset. I have no evidence of this before me nor do I have any indication of the mechanism used to classify the status of this building in this regard, such as a local list. From my own observations, the barn is an attractive building which contributes positively to an intrinsically rural area. However, in the absence of any indication that such criteria have been subject to public consultation, I cannot be satisfied that the approach taken to identifying non-designated heritage assets reflects the current advice set out in PPG.

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — Appeal Decision I have therefore not considered the proposal and any impacts on the host building as a non- designated heritage asset. 17. To conclude, I am satisfied that the proposed design and external appearance would not unacceptably harm the character and appearance of the host building. Accordingly, I consider it would not conflict with the requirements of paragraph Q.2(f) of the GPDO. Conclusion 18. Although I consider that the design of the proposal would not harm the character and appearance of the host building, I have concluded that the proposal fails to comply with the requirements of Class Q in respect of the siting and location of the building making it undesirable for conversion. For these reasons I conclude the appeal should be dismissed.

Leckfields Barn, Low House Lane, Carnforth, LA6 2JJ — Lancaster City Council — C McDonagh INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3