Stantway Barns, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire Three of four redundant former agricultural barns have been converted to residential use and a planning application to convert the fourth into two units of low-cost rural accommodation is pending.
With regard to barn conversions, it is generally a requirement that a bat or owl presence survey is carried out by an accredited practitioner. Local Authorities will not place conditions on planning consents which allow for this requirement to be dealt with once consent has been granted. It is therefore essential, if any surveys are required in relation to conversion or replacement properties from an ecology point of view, that a table of propitious months in which to undertake these surveys is consulted, delays can be substantial.
Again, buildings with former none residential uses or conservation importance it is essential that the building is capable of such conversion, is structurally sound and that the conversion will not detract from either the scale or massing of the original building, particularly by way of alterations or extensions and early advice is needed in this regard.
It is anecdotal from P.P.S. that few barn conversions are carried out within budget! The major difficulty is always finished floor and ceiling levels.
