- Decision
- dismissed, 25 August 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: P Brennan
- Authority
- Telford and Wrekin (West Midlands)
- Appeal reference
- 6003286
- Application reference
- TWC/2025/0346
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Class Q (pre-May 2024 version) prior approval for conversion of two steel-framed agricultural barns to 5 dwellings
- Homes
- 5
- Site context
- open countryside
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- No Framework version cited
- Determinative policies
- GPDO Sch2 Pt3 Class Q(b), GPDO Q.1(i)
- Main issues
- conversion or rebuild
Summary
Class Q prior approval for five dwellings in two barns was refused. The inspector accepted agricultural use but found the works amounted to a rebuild rather than a conversion (DL 20-22). The Framework played no part.
What made the difference
The proposal relied on new independent timber structures inside stripped frames, with unknown foundation works, which put it on the Hibbitt side of the conversion/rebuild line.
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPDO Sch2 Pt3 Class Q(b) | fail | barns stripped to skeletal frames with independent self-supporting timber frames inside; a rebuild on Hibbitt principles (DL 16-22) | |
| GPDO Sch2 Pt3 Class Q(a) | pass | barns were in agricultural use as part of an established unit on 20 March 2013 (DL 23-26) |
Key facts
- Dwellings to be built as self-supporting timber structures inside the reclad steel frames; no foundation assessment (DL 12-18, 21)
- Application under the Class Q wording in force before 21 May 2024 (transitional SI 2024/579) (DL 2)
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.