Agricultural land to other use (Scotland)

[vulture1]

I have talked to our family architect about similar land for sale but was looking for some PH advice. I am looking at some agricultural land grade 3/ (2) soil but has not been used for production for a number of years.

What if any chance is there of being able to build light industrial units on this type of land. I assume a change of use would be submitted to the local council.

I jsut want to gauge if others have had any success in thsi type of thing or is a complete no no never going to happen?

[mondeoman]

If its pure agricultural and not green belt and the local planning 5y plan is to allow for diversification of agricultural land, then put the application in and see what happens.

[Equus]

vulture1 said:

What if any chance is there of being able to build light industrial units on this type of land.

It depends almost entirely on the location. Speak to a Chartered Planning Consultant (not an Architect) and/or submit a request for pre-application advice to the council.

As a general rule, though, slim to nil.

[Equus]

mondeoman said:

If its pure agricultural and not green belt and the local planning 5y plan is to allow for diversification of agricultural land, then put the application in and see what happens.

I should add that even where there is a local policy supporting diversification this will usually only apply where you can show that the diversification supports the continued existence of an agricultural operation (eg. a farm shop, tourism use, storage use, etc., that is intended to provide additional income to support the continued viability of an existing farming operation). If the change of use is a stand-alone proposal, it is unlikely to help you.

A Full, or even Outline, formal application can be a pretty expensive thing, and would also alert the current landowner to your intentions, so is not likely to be a good idea in the OP's circumstances. Most (though not all - some do now publish them, so check) Local Authorities treat pre-application inquiries confidentially, but the other issue is that they can take some time to respond - if this is a problem, then your only real option is to seek an opinion from a Chartered Planning Consultant.

[vulture1]

Equus said:

vulture1 said:

What if any chance is there of being able to build light industrial units on this type of land.

It depends almost entirely on the location. Speak to a Chartered Planning Consultant (not an Architect) and/or submit a request for pre-application advice to the council.

As a general rule, though, slim to nil.

Thanks for your advice.

With it being slim to nil how do small village or town industrial units get allowed when they are usually using farmland or rough unused land as their starting point?

Edited to further add looks more like it would be under class B8 as they would be storage units.

Edited by vulture1 on Monday 20th September 00:03

Edited by vulture1 on Monday 20th September 00:13

[Equus]

vulture1 said:

With it being slim to nil how do small village or town industrial units get allowed when they are usually using farmland or rough unused land as their starting point?

In very simple terms, part of the process of writing the Local Plan is that the Planners assess how much land is necessary for housing, industrial, retail, etc., to serve economic growth in their area, and where the most appropriate place is to locate it.

It is a VERY long and complicated process that involves assessing the balance of land uses and the infrastructure necessary for them to support each other, but the outcome is that you will find that there are maps and written statements included in the adopted Local Plan that say how much of each land use they want, and where they want to see it come forward.

Suffice it to say that if the land you are looking at had already been 'allocated' to business development, the landowner would know all about it and the sales particulars and price of the land would reflect the fact.

[anonymous-user]

Equus said:

vulture1 said:

What if any chance is there of being able to build light industrial units on this type of land.

As a general rule, though, slim to nil.

Any luck this is the case, we need to be rewillding unused or unproductive farm land (can actually make it productive again) not building on it, my personal opinion anyway