- Decision
- dismissed, 2 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: Eleni Marshall
- Authority
- West Northamptonshire (East Midlands)
- Appeal reference
- 6009818
- Application reference
- 2026/0210/FULL
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Retrospective agricultural timber store
- Site context
- open countryside
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- S5(1)(a), DP3
- Development plan policies
- West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2014 S10, South Northamptonshire Part 2 Local Plan SS1
- Main issues
- whether required for agriculture
Summary
A retrospective "agricultural" timber store on grassland at the edge of Whitfield was dismissed. Agriculture is an S5(1)(a) category. But the appellant gave no clear evidence of the scale of the farming activity, so "it is not realistically possible to quantity the benefits" (DL ¶16). The domestic-looking design (UPVC windows and doors) meant those unquantified benefits were substantially outweighed (DL ¶17).
What made the difference
Evidence of genuine agricultural need. S5(1)(a) is not a free pass: it still needs benefits that can be weighed. DP3 is cited as "National Policy D3" (a drafting slip).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| S5(1)(a) | fail | agriculture is an S5(1)(a) category, but without evidence of the scale/nature of the agricultural activity benefits cannot be quantified; substantially outweighed by design failure (DL 16-17) | |
| DP3 | conflict | UPVC windows/doors and domestic form not designed for agricultural function (DL 10-12, 17 - cited as "D3") |
Key facts
- Site inside Whitfield village in general context but outside the village boundary - open countryside
- Council suspected domestic storage for a caravan; enforcement history; costs application decided separately
- Framework changes judged immaterial - no re-consultation (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.