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Highfield Farm Highfield Lane Tyttenhanger Hertfordshire St Albans AL4 0RL

5/2026/0549OutlineRefused
Outline / PiP

Refused on 13 May 2026

Council decision: COU Prior approval required and refused2 reasons for refusal

Approximate location: the centre of the postcode, not the exact property.

Proposal

Prior approval - Change of use of 5 agricultural buildings into 7 residential dwellings (Class C3 Use) along with the creation of amenity space and parking at Highfield Farm Highfield Lane Tyttenhanger Hertfordshire St Albans AL4 0RL

Submitted
19 March 2026
Ward
Colney Heath
  1. Received19 Mar
  2. Validated
  3. Consult.
  4. Target
  5. Decided13 May

Decided in 55 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is an outline application for a change of use at Highfield Farm Highfield Lane Tyttenhanger Hertfordshire St Albans AL4 0RL. St Albans has handled 912 applications of this type. This one was decided in 55 days. There has been 1 other application at this address. In the past year there have been 53 applications across Colney Heath. We hold 2,081 applications in total for the AL4 postcode area.

71% of outline applications at St Albans City and District Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 8 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 Prior Approval of the Local Planning Authority is required and refused for the change of use of buildings on an agricultural unit to residential (Class C3) as insufficient information has been submitted to demonstrate that the works required would not constitute a rebuild rather than a conversion. The submitted plans are lacking in detail and information regarding materials, structural detail and level of work required for the conversion. Additionally whilst a visual structural inspection has been submitted, due to the absence of a full structural report and detailed drawings, it is not possible to determine that the works required would fall within the scope of Class Q1. (j) of Class Q, Part 3, Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended).
  2. The Prior Approval of the Local Planning Authority is required and refused for the change of use of buildings on an agricultural unit to residential (Class C3) as the submitted plans do not adequately show the detailed external appearance of the proposed dwellings. They do not sufficiently show the extent of the structure and materials to be retained, proposed materials or finishes and as such, particularly with regards to barns C and D, it is not possible to adequately assess the design and external appearance of the proposed dwellings.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
AL4 0RL
Application type
Outline
Scale / size
Small

Planning application dates

Consultation expiry
25 April 2026

Applicant and agent

Agent
Anna Mayers Herts County Council

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations at the address point. Ones next to the site may also apply.

  • Green belt: St Albans
  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)
Also checked, none recorded (23)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, 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: St Albans

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