Farm Building Planning Application: Your Pre-Submission Checklist
Most planning applications for farm buildings fail before the case officer even reads the planning argument. They fail on the basics — wrong route, missing documents, the wrong fee, or a building that was never eligible in the first place. This checklist tells you what to get right before you submit.
Step One: Identify the Correct Application Route
This is where most farmers go wrong. There is not one single type of planning application for a farm building. There are several. Getting the route wrong wastes money and time.
The three most common routes are:
Prior notification under Part 6 Class A (GPDO 2015) — for new agricultural buildings on units of 5 hectares or more. This is not full planning permission. The LPA can only consider siting, design, and external appearance. It is the most efficient route where it applies.
Prior notification under Part 6 Class B (GPDO 2015) — for agricultural buildings on units of between 0.4 and 5 hectares. The process is similar but the size limits are tighter.
Full planning permission — required where PD rights do not apply, have been removed by condition or an Article 4 Direction, or where the proposal falls outside the PD thresholds.
Before you do anything else, confirm which route applies to your holding.
Step Two: Check the Eligibility Tests for Permitted Development
Permitted development under Part 6 is not automatic. Your proposal must pass a series of conditions before the route is available at all.
The key eligibility tests for Class A are:
The holding must be used for agriculture for the purposes of a trade or business. Hobby farming does not qualify. This is confirmed in paragraph D.1 of Part 6 — the land must be in agricultural use before development commences.
The development must be reasonably necessary for the purposes of agriculture within the unit. This is a substantive test. An LPA that believes the building fails it is not obliged to respond within the statutory 28-day window. If you cannot articulate why the building is needed for the farm, the application is at risk before it starts.
The building must not be within the curtilage of a scheduled monument. This exclusion was added by SI 2024/579 and applies to new buildings and extensions on or after 21 May 2024.
The building must not be within 25 metres of the metalled portion of a trunk road or classified road.
Check each of these against your site before you proceed.
Step Three: Know Your Size Limits
Under Class A Part 6, following the 2024 amendments brought in by SI 2024/579:
New or extended buildings that are not livestock structures have a maximum gross floor area of 1,500 sq.m.
Livestock structures and most engineering operations remain capped at 1,000 sq.m.
If you are proposing a building above these thresholds, Part 6 is not available and full planning permission is required.
Under Class B (smaller holdings), the limits are more restrictive. A new building cannot exceed 465 sq.m in floor space and the footprint cannot exceed 465 sq.m.
Check your proposal against these figures precisely. Over-threshold buildings submitted under Part 6 are invalid.
Step Four: Confirm Whether Prior Approval Is Actually Required
Under Class A, prior notification is only required for certain types of work. Specifically, prior approval on siting, design, and external appearance is required where the building:
- exceeds 1,500 sq.m in floor space, or
- exceeds 12 metres in height, or
- is within 3 kilometres of an aerodrome
For smaller structures that fall below these thresholds, you may only need to notify the LPA of the proposed development and wait 28 days. Some Class A works require no prior notification at all.
Know which category your building falls into before you start preparing the application. The required documents and fee differ between them.
Step Five: Assemble the Correct Documents
National requirements for a prior notification application under Part 6 Class A are:
- A completed application form (via the Planning Portal)
- A written description of the proposed development and the materials to be used
- A location plan at 1:1250 or 1:2500 showing the application site edged red
- The correct fee
Most LPAs also have local requirements. These vary but commonly include:
- Existing and proposed elevations (typically 1:50 or 1:100)
- Floor plans showing the building footprint
- A planning or agricultural justification statement
Check your LPA's local validation checklist before submitting. It is on their website. Failure to include a locally required document is the most common reason applications are returned as invalid — and that eats into your determination timeline.
Does every agricultural building need a planning statement?
Not always. For a straightforward Class A prior notification on a standard agricultural building, a brief written description often suffices nationally. Many LPAs require a short justification as a local requirement. For larger or more complex proposals — or where the agricultural need might be questioned — a proper planning statement is essential.
Step Six: Calculate the Right Fee
Application fees for agricultural buildings were updated on 1 April 2025 and subject to CPI indexation again from 1 April 2026. The current fees for full planning applications for buildings on land used for agriculture are:
- Up to 465 sq.m gross floor space: £127
- More than 465 sq.m but not more than 540 sq.m: £610
- More than 540 sq.m but less than 1,000 sq.m: £610 for the first 540 sq.m, then £610 per additional 75 sq.m
- Between 1,000 and 4,215 sq.m: £5,270 for the first 1,000 sq.m, then £659 per additional 75 sq.m
Note that these fee bands are for full planning applications. Prior notification fees under Part 6 are separate and generally lower. Use the Planning Portal fee calculator to confirm the exact amount for your proposal — submitting with the wrong fee causes automatic invalidity.
Step Seven: Identify Sensitive Designations on or Near Your Site
Designations do not automatically prevent a farm building from being approved, but they change what the LPA can consider and how hard you need to work on the application.
Key designations to check before submitting:
Listed building — If any existing buildings on your holding are listed, check whether the proposed building falls within their curtilage. Works within the curtilage of a listed building may require Listed Building Consent in addition to planning permission or prior notification.
SSSI — Where your land falls within or adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Natural England must be notified. The LPA cannot approve the application without Natural England's input if it is likely to affect the SSSI.
Flood Zone 2 or 3 — Agricultural buildings in higher flood risk zones may require a Flood Risk Assessment. Check the Planning Portal's flood map at the outset.
Article 4 Direction — Some LPAs have removed agricultural PD rights in certain areas. Check whether any Article 4 Direction applies to your holding.
The Planning Portal's planning constraints map and your LPA's website are the starting points for all of these checks.
Step Eight: Consider Whether Supporting Reports Are Needed
For many straightforward Class A prior notifications, no supporting technical reports are required. For larger proposals, or where the site raises specific issues, reports may be needed:
Ecology — Most LPAs apply a wildlife trigger list. If your building is near hedgerows, woodland, watercourses, or existing farm buildings (which may support bats), a preliminary ecology appraisal is likely to be required.
Heritage — If the building is near a listed building or within a Conservation Area, a heritage impact statement may be expected.
Drainage — For larger buildings or sites in flood-sensitive locations, surface water drainage calculations may be required locally.
These reports take time to commission. If they are likely to be needed, commission them before you submit. LPAs can hold an application as invalid pending receipt of locally required documents, which can push you well beyond the statutory 28-day determination window.
Step Nine: Get the Drawings Right
Application drawings are validated against minimum standards. A plan that does not meet those standards will result in the application being returned.
For prior notification applications, the minimum is a site location plan. Most LPAs expect elevation drawings for anything requiring prior approval on design and external appearance. Drawings must show:
- The application site edged red
- North point and scale bar
- Existing and proposed elevations for new buildings
- Floor plans where floor area is relevant to the fee or the eligibility assessment
Poor drawings are the second most common reason for invalidity after missing documents. If you are drawing them yourself, use the correct scales and label everything clearly.
Step Ten: Check the Holding's Planning History
Before you submit, review the planning history of your holding. This matters for two reasons.
First, some Class A conditions require that the LPA be notified within a specified period after a building is completed, or that the building be removed if agricultural use ceases. If previous buildings on your holding were approved subject to conditions, check whether those conditions have been complied with. An outstanding breach of condition can complicate or invalidate a new application.
Second, where a building was previously approved under Part 6 and the unit subsequently reduced in size — for example, following a land sale — the eligibility of the current holding under Class A may have changed.
Your LPA's planning register is publicly searchable. Check it.
FAQ
Do I need planning permission to erect a farm building?
Not always. Agricultural buildings on holdings of 0.4 hectares or more may qualify for permitted development rights under Part 6 of the GPDO 2015. Whether full planning permission or a prior notification is required depends on the size of your holding, the size of the proposed building, and whether any relevant conditions or designations apply. Get the route right before you submit anything.
What is the 28-day rule for agricultural prior notifications?
Under Part 6 Class A, where prior approval is required, the LPA has 28 days from the date the application is received to decide whether prior approval is needed and, if so, to grant or refuse it. If the LPA fails to respond within 28 days and has not agreed an extension, the development may proceed. The clock only starts on a valid application — an invalid submission does not start the 28-day period.
Can the LPA refuse a prior notification for an agricultural building on grounds other than siting, design, and external appearance?
Under Class A prior approval, the LPA is limited to considering siting, design, and external appearance. It cannot refuse on grounds of principle — for example, because it disagrees with the farming operation or would prefer a different location on policy grounds unrelated to those three criteria. If an LPA attempts to refuse on other grounds, that decision is challengeable.
What happens if I build without notifying the LPA?
If your building requires prior notification and you commence work without submitting, or before the 28-day period has elapsed, the development is unlawful. The LPA can issue an enforcement notice requiring its removal. There is no guarantee that a retrospective application will be accepted, and you risk a breach of condition notice or planning contravention notice in the meantime.
If there is uncertainty about which route applies to your holding — or you want a specialist eye on the application before it goes in — contact us at Foxes Rural. An hour of advice at the start costs a fraction of what a refusal or enforcement notice costs to deal with afterwards. Email office@foxesrural.co.uk.