Dwellings for a Business Need

For a successful Business Need application, the applicant must demonstrate that the business requires a residence for one of the business’s essential workers. The applicant will need to show:

   (1) That the enterprise for which the application is made is economically viable – and not a ‘hobby’ business.
   (2) That the profits from the enterprise justify the expenditure on the new residence.
   (3) That a residence on site (or nearby) is necessary for the success of the business.
   (4) That no reasonable alternative to such a residence (for example, a rented house) exists.

These applications usually face objection. Local planning authorities (LPAs) are alert to Trojan Horse applications, where in reality the business is a disguise for an application to build a house in the countryside: a situation in which the business does not so much need the residence as the residence needs the business.

The sceptical LPA will ask the following questions:

   1. How long has this business been established?
   2. Is it profitable?
   3. Can the profits justify the cost of the residence?
   4. Is the residence beyond the needs of the key worker?
   5. Must the key worker live on site?

To succeed, this type of application requires a fully costed business plan in which the need for the new residential unit is made out. This evidence will be provided by two experts whose reports will complement each other: an accountant who will demonstrate that the business can afford the new residence, and a report from a business consultant with experience in the particular business activity – usually but not always agricultural. The role of the planning agent is to ensure that the reports deal with the concerns the local planning authority has.