Housing Minister announces rural homes boost

Housing Minister, Dominic Raab, has announced new measures which will provide more housing opportunities in rural areas.

By making changes to the development rights, rural communities will be allowed more options in converting agricultural buildings into family homes, giving the areas a better ability to meet local housing needs.

Changes to rights will mean up to five new homes can be created from existing agricultural buildings on a farm rather than the maximum of three currently permitted.

With agricultural conversion playing an important role in housing need – several hundred new homes are created each year through conversions – it is expected that the changes will give numbers a boost and allow communities to make the best use of existing buildings, meeting local housing needs, and ensuring they remain in keeping with the character of the area.

Further measures will see the government allow applicants an extra year to convert further storage and distribution buildings into new homes, helping to relieve local housing pressures.

Housing Minister Dominic Raab said: “We need to be more creative if we are to meet the housing needs of rural communities.

“That’s why I’m changing planning rules so rural communities have more flexibility on how best to use existing buildings to deliver more much needed homes for families.

“This is part of our comprehensive reform programme to build the homes Britain needs.”

Farmers will also experience a boost from the new measures, with the size limit on new agricultural buildings increasing from 465sq m to 1,000sq m.

Permitted development rights are a national grant of planning permission which allow certain building works and changes of use to be carried out without having to make a planning application.

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