Built Without Planning Permission? Your Options

It is already up. Now make it right.

Many farms have a building, track, yard or use that went ahead without planning permission. Sometimes it was a misunderstanding of permitted development. Sometimes the job simply needed doing. Either way, it is better to sort it out on your terms than wait for the council to find it.

Your 3 options

1. Check whether it was permitted development. Some farm buildings and works are allowed under agricultural permitted development, although a missed prior notification can still cause problems.
2. Check whether it is already lawful. In England, most breaches become immune from enforcement after 10 years. Building works substantially completed before 25 April 2024 could become immune after 4 years. A certificate of lawfulness confirms it.
3. Apply for retrospective planning permission. Section 73A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 allows an application for development already carried out. The council judges it as if it had not been built.

Why waiting is risky

A retrospective application is not a formality. If it is refused, enforcement action often follows. Councils also look harder at applications for work already done. Read why the new NPPF makes retrospective permission harder for farmers.

If the council has already written to you, see our guides to a planning contravention notice and an enforcement notice.

Building a strong retrospective case

Explain why the building or use is needed for the farm, show how it fits the landscape and deal with any technical issues such as drainage or access. Our farm planning consultants in Essex and our wider team across the UK prepare these cases.

How Foxes Rural can help

We check whether your development is permitted, lawful or needs an application, then tell you plainly which route to take and manage it from start to finish.