Class Q – New Rules or Old?

Rural landowners and developers currently have an opportunity to secure change of use of agricultural buildings to different uses, the most popular being residential dwellings, under two options via the Class Q permitted development route.

Until 20th May 2025, it is still possible to utilise the previous criteria, the key points being that the up to 5 dwellings can be formed, up to 465m2 of floor space can be used and a dwelling can have a footprint of that whole amount. This allows for very large, often luxurious, homes to be created.

Under the amended rules that came in 21st May 2024, the number of dwellings increased to a whopping 10! Similarly, the total floorspace that can be used for a change of use increased to 1000m2! However the size of each dwelling reduced to 150m2. So the emphasis is on higher density developments of smaller dwellings. (It should be noted that 150m2 floor area would equate to a 4 bedroom home built by many national house builders, so not that small). Currently a transitional arrangement is in place whereby either option can be used.

We recently secured prior approval to covert a large agricultural shed into 3 no. detached homes, each of 155m2 footprint. (See photos). By using the height and form of the building, we were able to design a 1st floor covering about 40% of the footprint, meaning that 4 spacious double, all ensuite, bedrooms could be created along with a large open plan principal living space facing west.

Our design includes some surgery on the existing volume, (the footprint of which was 780m2), cutting out chunks to create three detached properties, each with a parking area to the side and a covered verandah, using the existing roof overhang. This provides a sheltered outdoor amenity space to the west, where the views are and helps reduce solar overheating.

If you own a building which was in agricultural use before 24th July 2023, you could well benefit from the changes in use offered by Class Q. For a free consultation and to find out more, call us on 01271-377776.