The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 13 January 2026 by D Ellis MPlan MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 21st April 2026 Appeal A Ref: APP/W1525/W/25/3373581 Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Ingatestone, Essex CM4 9RS • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr Tony Netherton of Stock Dogs against the decision of Chelmsford City Council. • The application Ref is 25/00784/FUL. • The development proposed is erection of an agricultural barn. Decision 1. The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for the erection of an agricultural barn at Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Ingatestone, Essex CM4 9RS in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 25/00784/FUL, subject to the following conditions: 1) The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following drawings: location plan titled “The Barm at The Round Farm” [sic] plan reference number TQRQM25154110926879; location plan titles “The Barn at The Round Farm. Location Plan” plan reference number TQRQM25167122304934; drawing no. 001 Revision A; drawing no. 002 Revision A.

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — Appeal Decision 2) The external surfaces of the development hereby permitted shall be constructed in the materials detailed on the application form. 3) The building hereby approved shall be used solely for agricultural purposes taking place on Round Farm. Within three months of the permanent cessation of the use of the building for agricultural purposes, the building shall be demolished and all resulting material removed from the land. 4) No external lighting shall be installed at the site until such time as a lighting strategy for biodiversity has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority. The strategy shall: a) identify areas/features on the site that are sensitive to protected and priority species and that are likely to cause disturbance in or around their breeding sites and resting places or along important territory routes used to access key areas of their territory, for example, foraging; and b) show how and where the external lighting will be installed so that it can be clearly demonstrated that areas lit will not disturb or prevent the above species using their territory or having access to their breeding sites or resting places. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/W1525/W/25/3373581 All external lighting shall be installed in accordance with the approved strategy and shall be retained thereafter. Preliminary Matters 2. The description of development on the application form includes comprehensive details about the development. In the interests of conciseness I have omitted these details in the banner header above. 3. At the time of my site visit the barn had already been largely constructed, with galvanised roofing sheets and shutters at either end of the barn yet to be installed. Both of these elements are included as proposed materials on the application form. Although the submitted drawings appear to show the roofing sheets, the drawings do not seem to show the shutters, with both ends of the barn appearing blank. As no substantive details of the shutters have been included, I have therefore determined the appeal on the basis of the submitted drawings. Main Issue 4. The main issue is whether or not the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of development plan policy and the National Planning Policy Framework (2024) (the Framework). Reasons 5.

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — Appeal Decision Paragraphs 154 and 155 of the Framework establish that development in the Green Belt is inappropriate except in certain circumstances, such as where it involves new buildings for agriculture. Policies DM6, S1 and S11 of the Chelmsford Local Plan (2020) (LP) are consistent with the Framework, insofar that they seek to prevent inappropriate development in the Green Belt, while Policy DM6 also includes a list of exceptions to inappropriate development including for buildings for agricultural and forestry. The building simply needs to be used for an agricultural purpose to fall within the relevant exceptions. 6. The Council accepts that the lawful use of the land is agricultural. Although modest in scale, the farm keeps livestock, poultry, alpacas, and horses. At the time of my visit, the barn was being used for the storage of agricultural machinery, hay and animal feed which would clearly fall within an agricultural use. 7. As such, based on the information before me I am satisfied that the barn would be used for agricultural purposes. It follows that it would fall within the exception listed in part A)i. of LP Policy DM6 and at paragraph 154(a) of the Framework. 8.

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — Appeal Decision Consequently, I conclude that the proposal would meet the exception in the Framework for new agricultural buildings and therefore would not be inappropriate development within the Green Belt. The proposal would therefore satisfy LP Policies DM6, S1 and S11 and the requirements of the Framework. Given this conclusion, I need not consider the Green Belt any further. Other Matters 9. I acknowledge the Council’s concerns regarding the accuracy of the submitted drawings and the red line boundaries, however I note that the Council validated and determined the application based on those drawings. Nevertheless, this appeal has been determined based on the submitted drawings and it would be a https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — Appeal Decision Consequently, I conclude that the proposal would meet the exception in the Framework for new agricultural buildings and therefore would not be inappropriate development within the Green Belt. The proposal would therefore satisfy LP Policies DM6, S1 and S11 and the requirements of the Framework. Given this conclusion, I need not consider the Green Belt any further. Other Matters 9. I acknowledge the Council’s concerns regarding the accuracy of the submitted drawings and the red line boundaries, however I note that the Council validated and determined the application based on those drawings. Nevertheless, this appeal has been determined based on the submitted drawings and it would be a https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/W1525/W/25/3373581 matter for the Council’s enforcement team in the event that the development is not in accordance with the approved drawings. 10. Goatsmoor Lane has been identified by the Council as a Protected Lane, and as such is classified as a non-designated heritage asset. Goatsmoor Lane scores highly with regards to biodiversity, which contributes positively to its significance. The Council has not objected with regards to the effect of the development on the protected lane and based on the evidence before me I have no reason to disagree. Conditions 11. The Council has suggested a series of conditions, which I have considered against the tests set out in the National Planning Policy Framework and Planning Practice Guidance. In some cases, I have edited the suggested condition to improve precision and enforceability. 12. I have attached a condition specifying the approved plans to provide certainty. A condition would be necessary to ensure the external materials match those specified on the application form, in the interests of the character and appearance of the area. 13.

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — Appeal Decision For the purposes of protecting the Green Belt, a condition would be necessary to ensure the barn is used for agricultural purposes taking place on Round Farm and requiring the barn to be taken down in the event of the agricultural use ending. A condition requiring the submission and approval of a lighting strategy prior to the installation of any external lighting is necessary in the interests of biodiversity. 14. As adding shutters to the barn may represent a material change to the submitted drawings, a separate planning application would be required to amend the scheme. As such a planning condition requiring the submission of a final set of drawings would not be necessary. 15. The Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (as amended) does not automatically remove permitted development rights for walls, fences or other means of enclosure in the Green Belt. Given the existing buildings and animal enclosures on the site, it would not be necessary or reasonable to remove permitted development rights for walls, fences or other means of enclosure. Conclusion 16. For the reasons given above, I conclude that the appeal should be allowed.

The Round Farm, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Essex, CM4 9RS — Chelmsford Borough Council — D Ellis INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3