Agricultural Land Article 4 Direction

Restrictions of permitted development rights on agricultural land

In 1950 an Article 4 Direction was made to restrict the development on agricultural land and prevent existing buildings from being redeveloped. This was to protect agricultural land in the Green Belt.

Article 4 Directions do not mean that planning consent would not be granted; it merely means that an application has to be submitted so that the Council can examine the proposal in detail.

Once an Article 4 Direction has been confirmed and established, it remains in place permanently. If the original reasons for implementing the Direction no longer apply, it should be cancelled.

Download the original Article 4 document

Maps of the areas covered by the relevant Article 4 direction

BETA This is a new external service (Links to Individual Article 4 Area pages on the planning.data.gov.uk website)

Article 4 Agricultural Land Restriction (1952) Area 1    
Article 4 Agricultural Land Restriction (1952) Area 2
Article 4 Agricultural Land Restriction (1952) Area 3
Article 4 Agricultural Land Restriction (1952) Area 4

Barnet is responsible for the correctness of this data (last update December 2023)

Exceptions

An Article 4 Direction made under Town & Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 suspends particular Permitted Development Rights that otherwise would be available under that Order.

A planning application is required when implementing all rights granted under permitted development except these:

Part 6 – Agricultural and Forestry

  • 6A : The carrying out on agricultural land comprised in an agricultural unit of 5 hectares or more in area of: (a) works for the erection, (b) any excavation or engineering operations
  • 6B : The carrying out on agricultural land comprised in an agricultural unit, of not less than 0.4 but less than 5 hectares in area, of development consisting of: (a) the extension or alteration of an agricultural building; (b) the installation of additional or replacement plant or machinery; (c) the provision, main, pipe, cable or other apparatus; (d) the provision, (e) the provision of a hard surface; (f) the deposit of waste; or (g) the carrying out of any of the following operations in connection with fish farming, repairing ponds and raceways; the installation of grading machinery, aeration equipment or flow meters and any associated channel; the dredging of ponds; and the replacement of tanks and nets, where the development is reasonably necessary for the purposes of agriculture within the unit.
  • 6C : The winning and working on land held or occupied with land used for the purposes of agriculture of any minerals reasonably necessary for agricultural purposes within the agricultural unit of which it forms part
  • 6E : The carrying out on land used for the purposes of forestry, including afforestation, of development reasonably necessary for those purposes consisting of: (a) works for the erection, (b) the formation, (c) operations on that land, to obtain the materials required for the formation, alteration or maintenance of such ways; (d) other operations (not including engineering or mining operations)