Blog
Planning for housing in Wiltshire
Planning for housing in Wiltshire The starting point for any planning decision is the development plan. In Wiltshire, the development plan consists of: Wiltshire Core Strategy, adopted in January 2015 Wiltshire Housing Site Allocations Plan, adopted in February 2020 Read more »
Converting outbuildings to living accommodation
Converting outbuildings to living accommodation - How Vision Planning can help you with the process Do you have an outbuilding in your garden, that you are wondering what to do with, or are you planning to build an outbuilding Read more »
New rules for turning annexes into separate homes
New rules for turning annexes into separate homes We explained here that using an annex as a separate home almost always needs planning permission. Many people don’t realise this, and rent out their annex to tenants or holiday makers. Read more »
Turning granny annexes into separate homes
Turning granny annexes into separate homes To use an ancillary annex (often known as a “granny annex”) as a separate home almost always needs planning permission. By using the annex as a separate home, we mean that the annex Read more »
Boyd Valley Lake “Class Q”, South Gloucestershire
Planning Success Stories: Boyd Valley Lake “Class Q”, South Gloucestershire In October 2023, Vision Planning obtained permission to turn an agricultural building into a house. Permitted development rights enable agricultural buildings to be turned into new dwellings, but there Read more »
Berrybrook Farm, Sedgehill, Wiltshire
Planning Success Stories: Berrybrook Farm, Sedgehill, Wiltshire In October 2023, Vision Planning obtained planning permission for a client to turn an agricultural building into two holiday cottages pm a farm yard in Sedgehill in Wiltshire. The building is an Read more »
Planning 72-76 High Street, Staple Hill, Bristol
Planning Success Stories: 72-76 High Street, Staple Hill, Bristol In August 2023, Vision Planning obtained a certificate of lawfulness for a client who had been using part of a shop as a residential flat. Where the use of a Read more »
Do I need planning permission to let out my house?
The answer to this question about holiday lets is annoyingly complicated I’m afraid, so please bear with me! Whether you need planning permission to enable you to rent out your existing house, or a room in your existing Read more »
How long does planning permission last?
Here we cover all the questions which you may have when you require planning permission. Question: How long does it take to apply for planning permission? The time it takes to prepare a planning application depends on the Read more »
Listed Building | 20A Oxford Street, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
20A Oxford Street is a listed building, which means that many works that would normally not need planning permission, do need permission. In this case, various internal and external changes were made to the building, and a new fence, Read more »
Planning Permission | Forge Cottage, Ramsbury, Wiltshire
In June 2022, Vision Planning obtained planning permission to enable an outbuilding at Forge Cottage in Ramsbury to be used for holiday accommodation and as an annex. We successfully made the case that this proposal would be a beneficial Read more »
Planning Permission | Loose Reins, Shillingstone, Dorset
In June 2022, Vision Planning helped to get planning permission for a new rural worker’s dwelling in association with an existing rural business in Shillingstone. Loose Reins is an existing equestrian and holiday accommodation business in the countryside. Normally, Read more »
Planning Permission | Gaunts Common, Dorset
Do you have an outbuilding in your garden that you would like to do something with to generate some income? It is often quite difficult to turn these into separate houses, especially if you live in the countryside, but Read more »
Converting a garden outbuilding to holiday accommodation?
Do you have an outbuilding in your garden that you would like to do something with to generate some income? It is often quite difficult to turn these into separate houses, especially if you live in the countryside, but Read more »
New Government policy helps turn granny annexes into separate homes
The Government has just updated its rules making it easier to get planning permission to turn a “granny annexe” into a separate dwelling. The Government sets out national planning rules in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The NPPF Read more »
Equestrian Worker’s Dwellings in the Green Belt – Success!
Stuart Miles, Vision Planning’s Director, has recently helped two applicants to live on site at their equestrian holdings in the Green Belt. Vision Planning recently obtained planning permission for the retention of a caravan to provide a temporary equestrian Read more »
The revised National Planning Policy Framework – what’s changed since the draft?
The Government has now amended the NPPF. It released a draft in March 2018, and the final revised NPPF was released on 24th July 2018. It’s 73 pages long so, to avoid you needing to read it all, this Read more »
Converting larger agricultural buildings to homes
On 6 April 2018, new permitted development rules came in that allow the conversion of much larger barns than before to residential use. Before 6 April, you could convert a barn with a floorspace of up to 450 sq.m. Read more »
Court Judgement makes getting permission for new homes in some small villages easier
Stuart Miles, Vision Planning’s Director, has recently helped two applicants to live on site at their equestrian holdings in the Green Belt. Vision Planning recently obtained planning permission for the retention of a caravan to provide a temporary equestrian Read more »
Converting Agricultural Buildings to Dwellings – an update
In February I explained how Planning Inspectors were dealing with appeals relating to converting agricultural buildings to housing. The Government has decided that Councils are refusing too many of these applications, and made a few changes to the rules Read more »
What does the Housing Delivery Test mean? And whatever happened to Housing Market Areas?
Has anyone wondered what the new Housing Delivery Test would mean in practical terms? And has anyone spotted that the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) doesn’t mention Housing Market Areas? The old NPPF, if we can call it Read more »
Draft Revised National Planning Policy Framework
The Government’s much vaunted revised National Planning Policy Framework was released in draft form today. To avoid you needing to read it all, this blog summarises the main changes that affect housing supply and affordable housing provision. Paragraph 14 Read more »
Rural Worker’s Dwellings
Do you need a new home for a worker on a farm or other rural business, to supervise livestock for example? There is a way. Normally, new homes in the open countryside are restricted by planning rules. However, the Read more »
Converting Agricultural Buildings to Dwellings
Are you considering converting agricultural buildings to a dwelling? The conversion of agricultural buildings to up to three dwellings is sometimes allowed as permitted development. This provides an opportunity for rural land owners to build a new house in Read more »