Woodsmoke Cedar Barn Grange Road Wareham BH20 5DG Data via plota.co.uk

P/FUL/2026/05189 - Full Planning Application Out To Consultation

Proposal

Change of use to photography and design studio, with ancillary gallery, office, café, private events space and non-residential wellness retreats (Mixed Use Classes E(a) E(g), E(b) E(d) and F2(b)) Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
21 Sept 2026
Decision
Expected by 16 Nov 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision between 15 Nov 2026 and 26 Nov 2026, from Dorset's recent changes of use.

Comments are open until 20 Oct 2026

Comment on this application ↗

Site constraints 9

Nutrient neutrality catchment: Poole Harbour SPA/Ramsar
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.
Dorset National Landscape
Great weight to conserving the landscape; major development restricted.
Previously an area of outstanding natural beauty, which is still the designation in law. Since 2023 authorities must seek to further its purpose, not merely have regard to it.
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 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.
Habitat network: Other Priority Habitats - NEZ
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
SSSI 177 m away: Stoborough & Creech Heaths SSSI
Natural England may need consulting, depending on what is proposed.
Sites of special scientific interest are the best wildlife and geological sites in the country. Development likely to harm one is rarely permitted.
1 listed building within 150 m
Nearest: The Old Smithy Farm, Grade II, 60 m away
The site itself is not listed. Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Historic England ↗
Also on the record
Special area of conservation 323 m away: Dorset Heathlands; Nature improvement area: Wild Purbeck; Priority habitat 22 m away: Deciduous woodland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. 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

Council
Dorset
Application type
Full Planning Application
Postcode
BH20 5DG
Received
21 Sept 2026
Validated
21 Sept 2026
Ward
South East Purbeck Ward
Parish
Steeple with Tyneham
Case officer
Show
Applicant
Show

Decision outlook

Day 18 of the 56-day target. Dorset usually decides changes of use by day 56.

Day 1838 days to the 56-day target
51%decided within 8 weeks
81%approved
248decided in the last year

Plota live figures for changes of use decided by Dorset in the last twelve months, from validation. Dorset decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Comments by
20 Oct 2026
Dorset
Planning Authority Score
7.5/10
Good
#44 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Dorset is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #51 out of 296. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (95%) 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
Dorset decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
92%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #80 of 296
95%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #74 of 296
78%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #51 of 296
35%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #102 of 296
81%
Minor dwellings approved
344 decided (1-9 homes)
85%
Major dwellings approved
40 decided (10+ homes)
76%
Change of use approved
85 decided
2,781
Total decisions
233 refused in the year to March 2026