Replacing a barn with a new low energy home
| Type: | New build home |
| Cost: | c £1,000,000 |
| For: | Chris and Daisy |
| Where: | Hertfordshire |
Not all of our green belt is the same. On this site in Hertfordshire, a combination of steep topography and historic mineral mining in the area has resulted in a backfilled site that is designated as very poor-quality agricultural land. Where farming is less appropriate, it gives us an opportunity to think about how these sites can contribute to the countryside.
The existing site sits adjacent to the Grade II listed Howell Court, which has been converted into flats. The handsome building is one of several scattered buildings in the area, that is characterised by these clusters of homes. Our client wanted to build upon this tradition, adding a home of his own on the site. With agricultural usage not viable here, they are looking to allow the rest of the site to become naturally biodiverse, becoming a habitat for the bees, birds, and small mammals in the area.
Building new homes in the green belt is carefully restricted, so obtaining planning permission can be a challenge. Our experience in both architecture and planning helps us to think strategically and find routes through these challenges.
First, we had to secure the principle of residential use. Current Permitted Development Regulations allow the conversion of agricultural buildings into residential usage. This is a specific permission using Class Q legislation that allows only the minimum amount of work needed to convert the usage.
The existing barn on site is a three-sided aluminium shed, that does not lend itself to high quality residential accommodation. However, we secured permission for this conversion, as a pathway to securing the principle of the residential use on site.
With this in place, we are now in the process of designing a high-quality, purpose-built home to replace the shed, using the permitted floor area and volume as parameters. Despite the principle being established, planning permission for a purpose-built house is far from certain, and will require exceptional design quality, high levels of sustainability, and a carefully integrated composition that nestles into its local area.
