Tall Ash Farm , BIDDULPH ROAD , HORTON , STAFFORDSHIRE , ST13 8QX Data via plota.co.uk

DET/2026/0024 - Notification - Change of Use Prior Approval Consultations/Re-consultations issued

Proposal

Prior approval application for the change of Use of Buildings on Agricultural Units and former Agricultural Buildings to Dwellinghouses (Class C3) Data via plota.co.uk

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View original council record ↗Last checked 8 Oct 2026, 02:19

Application progress

✓

Received

31 Jul 2026

Decision

Expected by 25 Sept 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicted a decision around 9 Oct 2026; it is now day 70.

The consultation period closed on 9 Sept 2026.

Documents

View the documents on the council's website ↗

Site constraints 5

Green belt: Stoke-on-Trent

Inappropriate development needs very special circumstances.

Green belt policy allows a short list of exceptions, such as limited extensions and replacement buildings. Anything else needs very special circumstances that clearly outweigh the harm. Some green belt land can count as grey belt, where it does not strongly serve the green belt's purposes. The council decides this in its green belt assessment or on each application, so we do not mark it here.

Read the government guidance ↗

Public footpath about 9 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 3b

Not 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.

Also on the record

Radon affected area, class 2; National infrastructure project about 433 m away: Peak Cluster CCS Pipeline, at pre-application.

Not affected

Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · 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 Planning Inspectorate, 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

Council: Staffordshire Moorlands
Application type: Notification - Change of Use Prior Approval
Postcode: ST13 8QX
Received: 31 Jul 2026
Validated: 31 Jul 2026
Case officer: Show
Target decision: 25 Sept 2026
Decision level: Delegated Decision
Applicant: Show
Agent: Robert Ford

Decision outlook

Day 70, past the statutory target. 93% of agricultural works in Staffordshire Moorlands are decided within thirteen weeks, which runs to 30 Oct 2026; extensions of time are common, and the council need not decide on the day. Last seen undecided on 7 Oct 2026.

predicted

Day 7014 days past the 56-day target

67%decided within 8 weeks

48%approved

30decided in the last year

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

Consultation & key dates

Consultation: 5 Aug 2026
Comments by: 9 Sept 2026

Staffordshire Moorlands

Planning Authority Score

0.4/10

Poor

#296 of 296 councils

Relevant to this application:

Change of use

Staffordshire Moorlands is one of the slowest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #277 out of 296. The council extends the time limit on 66% of applications - one of the highest rates in England. Expect your application to take longer than the standard deadline. Staffordshire Moorlands is also one of the strictest councils - it refuses more householder applications than almost any other, with only 76% approved vs 90% nationally.

Among the slowest councils in England

for householder decisions

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

Staffordshire Moorlands decision statistics

Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026

76%

Overall approval rate

Below avg (87%) #283 of 296

76%

Householder approved

Below avg (90%) #292 of 296

36%

Decided in 8 weeks

Below avg (63%) #277 of 296

66%

Extended time limit

Above avg (41%) #280 of 296

59%

Minor dwellings approved

41 decided (1-9 homes)

100%

Major dwellings approved

3 decided (10+ homes)

75%

Change of use approved

36 decided

396

Total decisions

94 refused in the year to March 2026