Field to the north of Simgill Fram Grayrigg KENDAL LA8 9BY Data via plota.co.uk

2026/1883/PAPP - Prior Approval Valid

Proposal

Prior approval for the erection of an agricultural building for livestock and machinery storage under Schedule 2, Part 6, Class A Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
28 Sept 2026
✓
Validated
29 Sept 2026
Decision
Expected by 24 Nov 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision around 26 Oct 2026, from Westmorland and Furness's recent agricultural works.

Site constraints 5

Nutrient neutrality catchment: River Kent SAC
New homes and overnight accommodation must show nutrient neutrality before approval.
Natural England advice: extra wastewater in these catchments harms protected habitats, so schemes must offset their nutrient load, usually through credits.
Public footpath about 10 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 4
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) agrees.
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.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 2
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Radon affected area, class 5
An estimated 10 to 30% of homes reach the radon action level. Indicative for the 1 km square, which takes the highest class found in it; a radon test gives the answer for a building.
From the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency indicative atlas. Under building regulations, as the BRE guide BR 211 (2023) sets out, new buildings and extensions need basic radon protection from class 3 in England and Wales and from class 2 in Scotland, and full protection from class 5. The class at the site itself, from the detailed BGS map, decides which.
UKHSA radon ↗
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, 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.

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Important details

Application type
Prior Approval
Postcode
LA8 9BY
Received
28 Sept 2026
Validated
29 Sept 2026
Ward
Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale
Parish
Grayrigg
Case officer
Show
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show

Decision outlook

Day 10 of the 56-day target. Westmorland and Furness usually decides agricultural works by day 27.

Day 1046 days to the 56-day target
82%decided within 8 weeks
89%approved
124decided in the last year

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

Consultation & key dates

Statutory expiry
26 Oct 2026
Westmorland and Furness
Planning Authority Score
3.1/10
Poor
#233 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Westmorland and Furness is slower than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #235 out of 296. 52% of applications have the time limit extended, above the 41% national average. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (93%) than the national average (90%).

Slower than most councils
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Westmorland and Furness decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
92%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #96 of 296
93%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #145 of 296
51%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #235 of 296
52%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #238 of 296
84%
Minor dwellings approved
69 decided (1-9 homes)
100%
Major dwellings approved
18 decided (10+ homes)
89%
Change of use approved
135 decided
1,204
Total decisions
91 refused in the year to March 2026