Carver Knowles has recently removed an agricultural occupancy condition without the need for a marketing exercise. The planning application gave the planning officers the proof they needed to show without doubt that there was no longer a need for an agricultural dwelling on the holding or in the locality and therefore enabled them to remove the condition and increase the value of the house by up to 30%.

The bungalow was erected in the 1970’s as it was required for a local estate which has now modernised and does not require the volume of agricultural workers it did back in the 1970’s.

Julie Branfield of Carver Knowles says ‘My main challenge with the planning application was that the bungalow is occupied by a former agricultural worker complying with the tie and after receiving a valuation of the property they were not keen on marketing it for sale. This therefore eliminated the two main methods of removing the tie and meant we had to think outside the box. The application centred around the main reasons for attaching a tie to a property in the first place and as there was no longer a holding, very little interest from qualifying parties able to purchase the dwelling and the barns on the other side of the road had residential planning consent with no occupancy restrictions this was enough evidence to get the tie lifted within the 8 week decision period.’

With the support of the local estate and the Parish Council the application was approved on schedule and to the satisfaction of our clients.

This has set a clear precedent that it is possible to remove an agricultural tie whilst complying with it and without marketing it for sale. The removal of an agricultural occupancy condition can increase the value of the dwelling by up to 30% so it is well worth considering.