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4 Pole Hole Farm Pye Corner Gilston Hertfordshire CM20 2RP

3/26/0710/ARPNPN Agricultural to ResidentialRefused
Prior approval

Refused on 6 July 2026

Council decision: Prior Approval Required and Refused4 reasons for refusal

Approximate site (title boundary)
Boundary © HM Land Registry, © Ordnance Survey · details

This information is subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 and is reproduced with the permission of HM Land Registry. The polygons (including the associated geometry, namely x, y co-ordinates) are subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 Ordnance Survey AC0000851063. Conditions of use.

Proposal

Prior approval application (Part 3, Class Q) for change of use and conversion of existing agricultural barn to create 1 x 3-bed dwelling and associated operational development

Received
19 May 2026
Public comments
1
Ward
Much Hadham
Agent
Aardent Design
  1. Received19 May
  2. Validated19 May
  3. Consult.18 Jun
  4. Target7 Jul
  5. Decided6 Jul

Decided in 48 days (council typically 63)

About this application

This is a planning application for a change of use at 4 Pole Hole Farm Pye Corner Gilston Hertfordshire CM20 2RP. East Hertfordshire has handled 68 applications of this type. This one was decided in 48 days, 2 weeks quicker than East Hertfordshire's typical decision time. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 67 applications across Much Hadham. We hold 252 applications in total for the CM20 postcode area.

83% of all applications at East Hertfordshire District Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 9 weeks (median).

Based on decided applications received in the last 3 years.Planning something similar? See what gets approved on your street

Why it was refused

  1. The proposed curtilage and its size in relation to the building exceeds the limits as set out by Q.3(1) of Class Q of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended).
  2. By reason of harm to the Hatfield Forest Site of Special Scientific Interest and the lack of mitigation to outweigh the harm, the proposed development is in a location which makes this type of development undesirable, failing to comply with Q.2(1)(e) of Class Q of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended).
  3. The development would be within Flood Zones 2 and 3 and an area at risk of surface water flooding, and therefore the sequential test is triggered. An up-to-date flood risk assessment has not been provided nor a sequential test. The proposal has failed to adequately address flood risk at the site from all sources, contrary to Q.2(1)(d) of Class Q of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended).
  4. Schedule 2, Part 3, Class Q of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) requires that the prior approval process is undertaken before any work is commenced on site. A site visit found that works had commenced in relation to the creation of the proposed residential unit. As such works have commenced on site, and the prior approval process can no longer be utilised for this site.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
CM20 2RP
Application type
PN Agricultural to Residential
Scale / size
Small
Parish
High Wych Parish Council

Planning application dates

Date validated
19 May 2026
Consultation expiry
18 June 2026
Last date for comments
18 June 2026
Target decision date
7 July 2026

Applicant and agent

Applicant
Private applicant
Agent
Aardent Design
Agent address
233 Princess Park Manor Royal Drive London N11 3FS

Planning decision

Case officer
Daniel Clark
Statutory period
49 days

Publicity

Advertisement expiry
18 June 2026

Additional information

Planning Portal ID
PP-14932081
Documents
17
Constraints
21

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

  • Flood zone 3: High probability (rivers and sea)Part of the site
  • Listed building: Pole HillOn or next to this site
  • Green belt: East Hertfordshire

Not published by this council, so not checked: Article 4 directions. Ask the council if these matter.

Possibly incomplete for this council: tree preservation orders.

Also checked, none recorded (21)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: East Hertfordshire

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