Storage and distribution use restrictions in countryside

The Department will not normally grant planning permission for the redevelopment of existing industrial or business uses in the countryside for storage/distribution use, partly because of the generally greater impact on rural amenity which would result and partly because the employment normally generated by storage/distribution use of a site is relatively less significant than its use for industrial or business purposes. An exception will however be permitted for small-scale proposals for storage and distribution use on part of an existing site used for industrial or business use or for redevelopment schemes involving an ancillary element of storage or distribution use provided in both cases the general policy criteria can be met. Redevelopment proposals for small-scale storage and distribution using existing buildings on farms will be assessed under the provisions of CTY 11 – Farm Diversification in Planning Policy Statement 21 'Sustainable Development in the Countryside'.