Planning Application 57954 – Agricultural Building, Station Road, Bentworth, Alton

District Councillor Tony Costigan has provided the following information about the above planning application, provided by the EHDC Planning Team:

To clarify, 57954 is a prior notification, not a conventional planning application. It is a process set by Government to allow the conversion of redundant agricultural buildings to dwellings without applying for full planning permission.

The prior notification is submitted to the Local Planning Authority to determine that the proposal meets the required criteria set out in the General Permitted Development Order, to not require planning permission. The Local Planning Authority can also consult with limited statuary consultees regarding:

(a) transport and highway impacts,
(b) noise impacts of the development,
(c) contamination and flooding risks on the site, and
(d) whether the location or siting of the building makes it otherwise impractical or
undesirable for the change of use to occur,
(e) design or external appearance of the building.

This is the second prior notification on this site, the previous prior notification was dealt with under 29004/033. I have attached the report for 29004/033 which should offer more clarity of the process for this type of prior notification (the report is public information). Recent changes by Government now allow for the conversion of agricultural buildings to up to 5 dwellings.