Barn storming stories

Set in a rural idyll, with acres of space, the converted farm building is a city-dweller's dream. But, says Gwenda Brophy, the dream comes at a price

You can see them on any Sunday-afternoon drive in the country. Former barns and granaries, marooned in splendid rural isolation - symbols of the decline in farming fortunes as well as changing farming methods. Turn another bend and you pass a very different - restored - version, four-wheeled drive, dogs and children's toys offering a snapshot of the country lifestyle to which many urban dwellers aspire.

You can see them on any Sunday-afternoon drive in the country. Former barns and granaries, marooned in splendid rural isolation - symbols of the decline in farming fortunes as well as changing farming methods. Turn another bend and you pass a very different - restored - version, four-wheeled drive, dogs and children's toys offering a snapshot of the country lifestyle to which many urban dwellers aspire.

Such properties pander to two national obsessions - our insatiable desire for space and the opportunity they present for a "makeover". "They are also the country equivalent of the loft living in towns," says Michael McNamara, who has built a business converting agricultural buildings in north Norfolk. "They represent an informal life style - cooking, dining, sitting all takes place in one continuous space - and advances in insulation techniques mean it no longer has to be cold and draughty. What is more, there are plenty of them around - modern farming requires even bigger places to store huge machinery which is why so many old ones are being sold off."

However, if you thought buying and converting a redundant agricultural property was going to be a hayride, think again.

Douglas Mackellar of FPDSavills Oxford office says, "The presumption of use for these buildings by local authorities is for business, not residential use, so if you are applying for the latter you have to show you have investigated business use and that it is impractical. You will need to establish that the farm building is structurally capable of conversion without significant rebuilding, that it is worthy of retention and the proposed design is in keeping with countryside. Local authorities interpret guidance differently: some are happy to see residential use and are more accommodating, others see it as a last resort. Successful applications are, however, increasingly more difficult to obtain, so a well thought-out approach is essential."

McNamara agrees. "While all councils have the same planning 'bible' how they interpret it varies hugely. My experience in north Norfolk is that planners are reluctant to give full residential planning use to barns, preferring to award holiday use - precluding use as a main family home - and actually encouraging the phenomenon of villages made up of second-homers."

Brian Belton heads the architecture and planning department at Durrants, an East Anglia-based company that offers services from gaining building-regulation approval, to supervising work, through to completion, and says that potential buyers need to be hard-headed about the costs. "Converting properties like these is not for the faint-hearted. There are no short cuts - it is full surveys, detailed drawings and structural plans, and in terms of cost, a barn of around 1,600 square feet would cost around £3,000 + VAT to gain approvals from the council planning department. With a property here costing £120,000 to £200,000 before conversion, you should as a guide add £100 per square foot to do the job."

Even the seasoned professionals can have a battle when it comes to the details. "We are currently converting listed north Norfolk agricultural buildings which have full residential consent and want to add three windows. So far, I have been asked to forward 175 copies of drawings," says an exasperated McNamara.

Of course, there is the ready-converted market: you will not reap the value-added for doing up the property, but you will avoid the hassle. Prices for broadly similar rural properties vary considerably, reflecting the prevailing price levels for that county. Lincolnshire offers good value. The Granaries at Scopwick, north of Lincoln, has four bedrooms - one with a galleried area - and is set in a walled garden. It is on the market for £285,000 through FPDSavills.

But while for some buyers the isolation of an old agricultural building is part of its appeal, living in one does not have to mean being miles from neighbours. The Granary is set in the village location of Scampton: a four-bedroom home, complete with Aga, it is on the market for £325,000, also through FPDSavills.

Small communities also arise when a clutch of adjacent farm buildings are developed. At Caldewell Farm in Stoulton, Worcestershire, The Smithy, The Granary, The Coach House, The Dairy and Tythe Barn are on the market priced £495,000-£595,000 through Knight Frank.

In Surrey, a swathe of buildings from a former working farm, Wishanger, is being converted into 13 homes by Elsmore Estates. Five cottages were sold in the first phase, and refurbishment of several barns, the milking parlours and the former farm manager's house is also planned at the site. Prices range from £325,000 to £700,000, through agents Keats Meehan. "Smaller units in clustered developments tend to be more affordable than big one-off barn restorations," says the developer's Richard Elsmore, who is also converting a one-off home - Manor Farm Barn at Firbright in Surrey - which offers a massive 4,000 square feet of high-specification property at £1.35m through Strutt and Parker.

The Wishanger development also includes three commercial properties and mixed-use compromise is increasingly being adopted by many local authorities. Wealden District Council in Sussex, for example, sees residential use as least desirable, according to Martyn Cundey of agents Howard Cundey. A farm conversion at Langley House and Studios on the Sussex/Kent borders has a vaulted 40-ft long drawing room, three bedrooms, as well as separate workshop/office/studio premises of 1,810 square feet. It is priced at £1.2m through Cundeys.

Michael McNamara, 01328 829 222.

Durrants, www.durrants.com

FPDSavills, 01522 551144

Knight Frank, 01905 746888

Keats Meehan, 01428 604016

Strutt and Parker, 01483 306565

Cundeys, 01342 833333