Planning & Design have successfully obtained planning permission for the sensitive conversion of a listed Farmstead in Longford, Derbyshire Dales. The farmstead had been a dairy farm up until summer 2018, however the farm was no longer viable and the client wished to consider other practical uses for the listed barns. The client has already successfully converted another building on their land to a holiday let, which is frequently occupied.
The proposed scheme comprises six holiday lets – two in the Grade II brick Cowshed, one in a section of the Grade II* brick Hay Barn and a further three in a modern steel frame barn.
Careful consideration had to be given to the setting of the listed farmstead and the location of parking and given its proximity to public footpaths.
Design details had to be resolved at an early stage, which is common for Listed building applications, as Local Planning Authority Conservation officers are required to approve the details. We ensured that the open feel of the barn was retained by having open plan living/kitchen areas, retaining and replacing the rooflights to the internal roof pitches and keeping the roof trusses exposed.
Changing the use of the barns to holiday lets means that the barns will remain in the same ownership and control as the rest of the listed farmstead. Whilst this is not a mandatory item for planning, it is an aspect that is considered more favourably in planning and listed building consent applications for conversion to dwellings.
As the project was so large, complex and detailed, we negotiated with Derbyshire Dales District Council to resolve planning and design issues before the project was recommended for approval at Planning Committee.
The Planning Committee spoke highly of the scheme and were pleased to see a new use for the redundant barns, commenting how they would like to be invited back to see the finished project. The committee unanimously approved the scheme in November 2018.
