The Growing Importance of Fallback Planning in North Devon
North Devon's rural planning environment is increasingly being shaped by the strategic use of fallback planning, with developers and landowners securing permitted development rights, not just to convert agricultural barns, but to also establish a strong fallback position for more ambitious proposals.
What is Fallback Planning?
In North Devon, the fallback planning process enables you to build upon existing permitted development rights, as they already establish a form of development on site. Where a lawful fallback exists, a subsequent full planning application through the fallback strategy can secure a more refined or enhanced scheme, allowing for improved design features, alterations and extensions that can go beyond what the permitted development rights alone would allow.
A common example of a strong fallback position is an approved Class Q consent for the conversion of an agricultural building into residential use. While an approved Class Q scheme is usually limited by the constraints of an existing building, it can demonstrate that residential development in already established in principle, thereby demonstrating a strong and credible fallback position. So, by referencing the Class Q as a fallback, this can support a future full planning application for an improved design.
Another example is the DM27 policy, which is within the North Devon and Torridge local planning policy. This is a development management policy dealing specifically with Re-use of Disused and Redundant Rural Buildings. Similarly to Class Q, DM27 can also limit certain works to a building, but it does provide a strong fallback position demonstrating that a residential development is established in principle.
What is Class Q?
Class Q is a permitted development right which allows certain agricultural buildings to be converted into 1 or more residential dwellings without the need for full planning consent, as long as specific criteria are met. WSCA have written a separate article about Class Q barn conversions and everything there is to know about them, which you can read here!
What is DM27?
Policy DM27 in the North Devon and Torridge Local Plan is a development management policy which supports the conversion of redundant or disused rural buildings where:
a) the conversion would not harm the intrinsic qualities or historic interest of the building;
b) the proposal would have a positive impact on the immediate setting and protect the wider rural character;
c) development can be achieved without significant external alteration, extension or substantial rebuilding;
d) suitable highway access can be provided and the surrounding highway network can accommodate the proposed use
e) any nature conservation interest within the building or wider site is retained
You can click here to read our article on rural conversions in North Devon, which includes information on Policy DM27.
The Positives of Fallback Planning
1. Establishes the principle of development:
If a lawful fallback exists, such as an approved Class Q barn conversion, then the principle of the residential use has already been accepted. Consequently, your position is typically much stronger as instead of their being question of whether the development is acceptable in principle, the focus is mainly on the form and design that it should take.
2. Enables better design outcomes:
Permitted development rights are typically visually and structurally constrained. Fallback planning allows you to:
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Reconfigure layouts
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Improve architectural quality
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Better integrate development into the landscape
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Apply to demolish the original design (from the permitted development rights consent), and rebuild a new dwelling
You are not restricted by the form and shape of the existing building, allowing you to create a more attractive building and surroundings. There is also greater flexibility over factors such as materials, scale & repositioning of the dwelling, and landscaping & site layout.
3. Strengthens the planning balance:
Planning officers are required to give consideration to a fallback that is:
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Lawful
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Realistic
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Implementable
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Likely to be carried out
Refusing an improved scheme is hard to justify if a fallback dwelling could be built anyway, especially if the alternative offers improved design or landscape outcomes.
4. Limited / No VAT
If you are demolishing the existing building and constructing a new home, there is no VAT on build costs. Similarly, if the building is being converted to residential rather than demolished, VAT costs apply but they are reduced to 5%.
An Example of a Fallback Position at Our Practice
Our team successfully secured planning permission through the fallback process for a new home in the countryside in North Devon. This site already had Prior Approval for Class Q, which gave consent for the conversion of an existing building into a dwelling. WSCA then applied for full planning permission to demolish the existing barn and erect a new dwelling following the Class Q consent.
The dwelling was designed to give a familiar rural character while allowing for modern interpretation. The single-storey profile and use of vertical timber cladding softens the buildings appearance, ensuring it sits comfortably within it's setting, while the slate roof reinforces the local vernacular, referencing traditional North Devon agricultural buildings.
The evolution from the approved Class Q barn conversion to the subsequently approved full application demonstrates a clear and positive improvement of the scheme, moving from a compliant conversion to a more thoughtful and architecturally enhanced design.
The original design is shaped by the limitations of permitted development and as such, the form is largely dictated by the existing barn's original form. By contrast, the new full approval allows the scheme to be fully designed rather than just simply being converted. For example, the gable form becomes a key design feature, rather than an inherited shape from the original barn, and the openings are better aligned and proportioned.
Rather than simply replacing the original Class Q consent, the new design refines and improves it, attaining a dwelling that is more balanced and coherent. This showcases how the fallback process has delivered a materially and architecturally better outcome, which respects the established residential principle under Class Q, while significantly enhancing the overall quality and design of the dwelling.
Plans & elevations approved under Class Q consent
Plans & elevations approved under full application through fallback process
Fallback planning is quickly becoming a key factor in shaping rural development across North Devon. By using an existing permitted development right, you are able to move beyond the limitations of a basic barn conversion to deliver more carefully designed homes, which integrate better into their surroundings.
If you have an agricultural or disused building with existing permitted development rights, or are considering converting a barn or existing building, our team are here to help advise you on the opportunities available. Get in touch with us today to explore the potential of your project!
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Woodward Smith Chartered Architects
6 Tuly Street
Barnstaple
Devon
United Kingdom
EX31 1DH
