Lower Farm, Lower Farm Road, Edworth, Biggleswade, SG18 8RB Data via plota.co.uk

CB/26/02053/PAAD - P.Notif. Agricultural to Dwelling Refused

Proposal

Prior Approval for Change of Use of Agricultural Building to Dwellings: Conversion of one agricultural barn to three residential dwellings. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
29 Jun 2026
✗
Refused
20 Aug 2026
Appeal
Not lodged

Refused on 20 Aug 2026 · Last checked 13 Oct 2026

Site constraints 2

Public footpath about 15 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.
Agricultural land, grade 2
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). 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 3. 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.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

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 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.

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Important details

Application type
P.Notif. Agricultural to Dwelling
Postcode
SG18 8RB
Received
29 Jun 2026
Validated
29 Jun 2026
Parish
Edworth
Case officer
Show
Target decision
24 Aug 2026
Decision
Prior Approval - Refused Conditions or Reasons: View Conditions or Reasons Informative Notes: 1 )This decision refers to plan numbers: 224421-PL-S3-3-301 224421-PL-S3-3-300 REV B 224421-PL-S3-00-100 REV B 224421-PL-S3-3-101 REV B 224421-PL-S3-3-100This decision refers to plan numbers: 224421-PL-S3-3-301 224421-PL-S3-3-300 REV B 224421-PL-S3-00-100 REV B 224421-PL-S3-3-101 REV B 224421-PL-S3-3-100
Decision date
20 Aug 2026

How this decision compares

Decided in 52 days from validation, about the council's usual 55 days. Refused, as 28% of agricultural works here are.

62%decided within 8 weeks
72%approved
40decided in the last year

Plota live figures for agricultural works decided by Central Bedfordshire in the last twelve months, from validation. Central Bedfordshire decision record →

Public comments

11comments received
10 objecting1 neutral

91% object · above the UK average of 74%

Last counted 13 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Consultation
29 Jun 2026
Comments by
5 Aug 2026
Site or press notice
15 Jul 2026
Central Bedfordshire
Planning Authority Score
6.3/10
Average
#88 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Central Bedfordshire is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #62 out of 296. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (91%) 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
Central Bedfordshire decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
84%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #218 of 296
91%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #169 of 296
76%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #62 of 296
35%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #99 of 296
61%
Minor dwellings approved
153 decided (1-9 homes)
86%
Major dwellings approved
29 decided (10+ homes)
73%
Change of use approved
45 decided
1,444
Total decisions
226 refused in the year to March 2026