Livestock buildings within 400 metres of a dwelling
Agricultural permitted development does not cover a livestock building or slurry store within 400 metres of a protected building. Here is how the restriction works, how to measure it, and what a full application needs.
A new livestock building within 400 metres of a protected building cannot be erected under agricultural permitted development. Schedule 2 Part 6 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 withdraws the right for any building used to accommodate livestock, and for any slurry or sewage sludge store, where it would stand within 400 metres of the curtilage of a protected building. The distance runs to the curtilage, so the garden counts. Where the restriction bites you need full planning permission, and the application then turns on odour and amenity rather than on whether farming is acceptable in principle.
Where the 400 metre restriction comes from
Part 6 of the GPDO deals with agricultural and forestry development. Class A covers agricultural units of five hectares or more and allows buildings, excavations and engineering operations reasonably necessary for agriculture, inside a set of fixed limits: a ground area of no more than 1,000 m², a height cap of 12 metres (three metres within three kilometres of an aerodrome), and a bar on building within 25 metres of the metalled surface of a trunk or classified road.
The livestock clause sits among those limits. It removes the right where the development would involve the erection, extension or alteration of a building for accommodating livestock, or the provision, extension or alteration of a structure for storing slurry or sewage sludge, within 400 metres of the curtilage of a protected building.
Class B applies to smaller holdings, between 0.4 and five hectares, and only permits extensions and alterations to existing agricultural buildings rather than new ones. It carries an equivalent restriction, so nothing is gained by pointing at the smaller unit.
One narrow release exists. The restriction lifts where livestock are housed temporarily and it is not reasonably practicable to accommodate them elsewhere, which is written for a disease outbreak or a flooded field. It will not carry a permanent shed, and case officers read it strictly.
What counts as a protected building
Part 6 supplies its own definition, and it is narrower than most farmers expect. A protected building is any permanent building normally occupied by people, or which would be so occupied if it were in use for a purpose it is suited to. Two exclusions follow. A building within the same agricultural unit is not protected, so your own farmhouse and your own workers' cottages place no constraint on you. Nor is a dwelling or other building on another agricultural unit that is used for or in connection with agriculture.
The second exclusion is the one that gets misread. A neighbouring farmhouse still in farming occupation falls outside the definition entirely. That same farmhouse, sold off with a paddock and occupied by a retired couple, falls inside it. A building that was unprotected on the day you drew the plan can become protected when a neighbour's holding is broken up and sold.
Buildings people do not normally occupy drop out. A detached garage, a field shelter, an open-sided implement store: none are protected. A village hall, a church, a school and a barn converted to offices under a diversification scheme all are, which is one reason farm diversification into workshops and offices can quietly sterilise part of your own land for future livestock buildings.
Worth checking the status of the use as well. Part 6 only applies to agriculture, and keeping horses for riding is not agriculture, so a stable block never had the right in the first place. The boundary between agricultural grazing and a business is set out in more detail in our note on livery yards and the point horses become a business.
Buildings and structures caught by the restriction
Livestock accommodation is the obvious case: cattle housing, a lambing shed, a poultry unit, a pig building. The clause also reaches slurry stores above and below ground, and sewage sludge stores, whether or not animals are housed anywhere near them.
Extensions and alterations count too. Adding a lean-to for calves to a shed that already stands 300 metres from a non-farm dwelling is caught, even though the original building was lawfully erected. So is converting a straw store into cubicle housing, because the test looks at what the building will be used for.
Outside the clause sit feed bins, silage clamps, hardstanding and general-purpose buildings not intended for stock. Those still have to clear the other Class A limits, and the silage, slurry and fuel oil regulations apply to a clamp regardless of what planning says. A general-purpose building quietly filled with cattle a year after it goes up is a different problem: that is an enforcement question, and the fall-back of permitted development will not help.
Measuring the distance correctly
Measure from the nearest point of the proposed building or structure to the nearest point of the curtilage of the protected building, not to its walls. Curtilage on a rural property usually takes in the garden, a parking area and outbuildings, which can pull the relevant boundary 30 or 40 metres closer than a measurement taken from the front door.
Do it on a scaled drawing and show your working. A 1:2500 site plan with a dimensioned line from the nearest corner of the proposed building to the nearest curtilage boundary is what a case officer wants, with the curtilage edge itself justified by the registered title, the fence line or dated aerial imagery.
Where the gap comes out close to 400 metres, be conservative. A figure such as 402 metres invites a complaint, and the argument that follows is about exactly where a hedge line runs, which is a poor place to be standing with a half-built shed.
Applying for permission where the right is lost
Two things change at once. The Part 6 prior approval route for siting, design and external appearance is unavailable, so you make a full planning application under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. And the proposal moves from a check against fixed numerical limits to a judgement on planning merits, which the council can refuse.
A workable submission for a livestock building near a protected dwelling contains:
- Application forms, the ownership certificate and an agricultural holdings notice where land is tenanted.
- A site location plan at 1:2500 and a block plan at 1:500 showing the 400 metre relationship and the curtilage you have measured to.
- Elevations, floor plans and a cross-section with existing and proposed ground levels.
- A Planning Statement setting out the agricultural need, the alternative sites considered on the holding and the amenity case.
- An odour and amenity assessment proportionate to the herd or flock size.
- Slurry and dirty water storage calculations, with the drainage route.
- A landscape mitigation plan with species, sizes and a management period.
Planning fees for agricultural buildings are set nationally and indexed each April, so check the current schedule before you submit rather than working from an older figure.
Odour and amenity evidence the council expects
There is no statutory separation distance for livestock buildings in England. The 400 metres is a permitted development threshold and nothing more. Councils do permit livestock housing closer than that where the evidence holds up, and they refuse at greater distances where the prevailing wind carries odour towards a settlement.
What persuades an environmental health officer is specific. State the species and numbers, the housing period across the year, the bedding and muck management regime, the ventilation type and where the outlets discharge, the storage capacity for slurry and dirty water, and the spreading arrangements. Where the unit is large enough to need an environmental permit, say so and explain how the two regimes fit together. The screening and scale questions for intensive units are set out in our piece on poultry units and the odour and screening question.
Odour work in England generally follows the Institute of Air Quality Management approach, which weighs frequency, intensity, duration, offensiveness and location rather than producing a single pass or fail number. Fixed plant such as fans brings noise into scope, usually assessed against BS 4142:2014+A1:2019. Flies, lighting and additional vehicle movements are all material and all get raised by objectors.
Design responses that reduce objection
Grouping matters more than colour. A building tucked behind the existing steading reads as part of the farm, while the same building alone in an open field reads as industrial development. Orient the ridge and the ventilation outlets away from the nearest dwelling, cut into the slope where the ground allows so the ridge sits lower, and use dark recessive profiled sheeting with a darker roof.
Cover the slurry store. Separate clean and dirty water so the volume needing storage drops. Plant native hedgerow and standard trees along the line of sight from the protected building, with a five-year management commitment written into the plan rather than left to a condition.
In a National Landscape, a National Park or the Green Belt, expect the council to want a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment or at least a structured landscape appraisal with photomontages from the affected dwelling. Green Belt adds the question of whether an agricultural building is appropriate development, which it usually is, and whether its scale and siting preserve openness, which is where cases are won or lost.
If you are scoping a shed near a boundary and want to know which supporting documents the council is likely to ask for, enter your postcode on PlanScope and work through the constraint check before you commission drawings.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it, and remember that a Lawful Development Certificate is the only formal way to confirm that works are lawful. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Does my own farmhouse count as a protected building?
No. Part 6 excludes any building within the same agricultural unit, so your own farmhouse and workers' cottages do not trigger the 400 metre restriction. The definition also excludes a dwelling on another agricultural unit that is used for or in connection with agriculture, which means a working neighbouring farmhouse is normally outside it as well.
Is the 400 metres measured from the house or from the garden?
From the curtilage of the protected building, which normally includes the garden, parking area and domestic outbuildings. That can be considerably closer than the house itself. Measure from the nearest point of the proposed building to the nearest point of that curtilage on a scaled plan and show the dimension on your drawings.
Does the restriction apply to a slurry store with no animals in it?
Yes. The clause covers the provision, extension or alteration of a structure or building for storing slurry or sewage sludge, independently of any livestock housing. A lagoon, an above-ground steel store or a below-ground tank within 400 metres of a protected building needs planning permission rather than a Part 6 notification.
Can I build closer than 400 metres with planning permission?
Often, yes. The 400 metres is a permitted development threshold and not a policy standard, so there is no rule against a closer building. The council weighs odour, noise, flies, traffic and visual impact on the merits, which means the strength of your amenity evidence decides the outcome rather than the raw distance.
What happens if I build first and measure afterwards?
If the building falls within 400 metres it was never permitted development, so it is unauthorised and the council can serve an enforcement notice. A retrospective application is possible but you argue it from a weak position. Confirming the distance before construction, and recording the measurement, costs far less than defending it later.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.