Woolaw Farm, Rochester, Northumberland, NE19 1TB Data via plota.co.uk

Pending 21NP0019

Agricultural

Council

Northumberland (Park) 5.9/10

Date received

28 Apr 2026

Date validated

28 Apr 2026

Postcode

NE19 1TB

Description

Erection of 2no. agricultural sheds for the storage of machinery Data via plota.co.uk

Get alerts nearby Council site ↗

Last checked 24 Aug 2026, 08:57

Decision outlook

Plota predicted a decision around 9 Oct 2026; it is now day 164.

Day 164, past the statutory target. 81% of full applications in Northumberland (Park) are decided within thirteen weeks; extensions of time are common, and the council need not decide on the day. Last seen undecided on 24 Aug 2026.

target

predicted

Day 164108 days past the 56-day target

56%decided within 8 weeks

87%approved

96,673decided in the last year

Plota live figures for full applications decided across the UK in the last twelve months, from validation; too few recent full applications in Northumberland (Park) to go on. Northumberland (Park) decision record →

Site constraints 9

Northumberland National Park

The park authority decides applications here. Great weight to conserving the landscape; major development restricted.

Landscape, scenic beauty and wildlife carry great weight, and major development is only allowed in exceptional circumstances.

Agricultural land, grade 5

Very poor quality farmland, not best and most versatile. Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s), which most planning maps still show, had this area as grade 4. The predicted grade is Defra's current estimate; only a site survey settles it.

Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.

Public footpath about 20 m away

Matters where it crosses or adjoins the site: obstructing a path without a diversion order is an offence, and work cannot start until the order is confirmed.

Compiled from highway authority data, not the legal definitive map. A few authorities have not published, so no path shown is not proof there is none.

Habitat network: Restorable Habitat

Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.

Scheduled monument about 137 m away: Unenclosed hut circle settlement 250m west of Woolaw

Its setting is a consideration for work nearby.

Nationally important archaeology protected by the Secretary of State. Work that affects the monument or its setting is rarely permitted.

Historic England ↗

Also on the record

Radon affected area, class 2; Coalfield, development low risk area; Priority habitat about 12 m away: Grass moorland; Open access land about 12 m away: Access Land - Combined Open Country, Registered Common Land and Section 16 Dedicated Land. MoD Byelaw, Section 28 Exclusions, Racecourses and Aerodromes and ECP Margin have been removed..

Not affected

Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt

Checked on 6 October 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Mining Remediation Authority, the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency (radon, contains BGS materials © UKRI) and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

Work with planning data?

Every application in Northumberland (Park) - and every UK council - as a live feed, an API, or a bulk CSV export.

About Plota's data service

Historical activity at this location

1 nearby application on record - archival context, not part of the live application.

Within ~100m

Nearby activity

2024 Approved

Woolaw Farmhouse, Rochester, Northumberland, NE19 1TB

Replacement of existing septic tank with sewage treatment plant

24NP0059 3 Oct 2024

Northumberland (Park)

Planning Authority Score

5.9/10

Average

#107 of 296 councils

Relevant to this application:

Householder decisions

Northumberland (Park) is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #78 out of 296. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (92%) than the national average (90%).

Faster than most councils

for householder decisions

These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance

Northumberland (Park) decision statistics

Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026

90%

Overall approval rate

Above avg (87%) #114 of 296

92%

Householder approved

Above avg (90%) #161 of 296

75%

Decided in 8 weeks

Above avg (63%) #78 of 296

38%

Extended time limit

Below avg (41%) #131 of 296

100%

Minor dwellings approved

7 decided (1-9 homes)

75%

Change of use approved

4 decided

Total decisions

4 refused in the year to March 2026