Part 6: Agricultural & Forestry

Part 6 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO gives important permitted development rights for agriculture and forestry in England. Used properly, it can provide a quicker planning route for agricultural buildings, farm tracks and other works, limited mineral working and forestry development without a conventional planning application.

The detail matters. The size and use of the agricultural unit, the purpose of the development, recent works on the holding, road and protected-building distances, heritage constraints and the prior approval procedure can all change the answer.

Part 6 grants planning permission through the GPDO where every relevant limitation and condition is met. It is not a blanket exemption from planning control. Some development can proceed without contacting the local planning authority, while other development is subject to a prior notification and prior approval procedure before work starts.

Which Part 6 right applies?

• Class A is for agricultural units of 5 hectares or more and can include new agricultural buildings, extensions and alterations, private ways, excavations and engineering operations
• Class B is for agricultural units of at least 0.4 hectares but less than 5 hectares. It does not give a general right to erect a new agricultural building, but it permits a defined range of extensions, alterations and other agricultural works
• Class C is a narrow right for winning and working minerals that are reasonably necessary for agricultural purposes within the agricultural unit
• Paragraph D contains the definitions and measurement rules used by Classes A to C. It is often where apparently simple proposals succeed or fail
• Class E covers development reasonably necessary for forestry, including buildings and private ways

Start with the land and the agricultural unit

For Classes A to C, the relevant land must be agricultural land within the statutory definition. In broad terms, it must already be in use for agriculture for the purposes of a trade or business. A rural location, paddock or field does not acquire agricultural permitted development rights simply because it looks agricultural.

Before relying on Part 6, check whether the land is agricultural or equestrian and what forms the agricultural unit. The size test applies to the agricultural unit, but separate parcels within that unit can have their own minimum area requirements.

The 2026 Clophill agricultural use appeal is a useful reminder that agricultural use and entitlement to a particular Part 6 right are separate questions. The Inspector accepted the proposed growing use as agriculture, but the building did not qualify because the separate Part 6 tests were not met.

Agriculture or forestry: which Part 6 Class applies?

A landowner cannot simply choose between Classes A, B and E according to which gives the most useful permitted development right. The starting point is the actual planning use of the relevant land before the proposed development is carried out.

For planning purposes, section 336 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 includes woodland within “agriculture” only where the woodland use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes. So a shelter belt, small farm coppice, riparian planting or other woodland which remains subordinate to the farming operation can still form part of an agricultural use. Fruit growing, seed growing and nursery grounds are also expressly agricultural uses even though they may involve large numbers of trees.

By contrast, Class E applies to land whose primary use is forestry, including afforestation. There is no statutory number of trees, minimum acreage or waiting period which automatically turns farmland into forestry land. Newly planted land can qualify as afforestation before it becomes mature woodland, but the evidence should show a genuine forestry purpose and management regime rather than trees being planted simply to obtain a more generous permitted development right.

Useful evidence might include a woodland creation or management plan, planting density and species, thinning or felling proposals, Forestry Commission or woodland-grant documentation and evidence of actual forestry management. No single document is decisive: the question is one of fact and degree.

Can the same farm contain both agricultural and forestry land?

Yes. Different parcels in the same ownership can have different planning uses. A farmer might retain 80 hectares in agricultural use and convert a separate 20-hectare block to genuine forestry. The forestry block does not automatically remain agricultural merely because it is part of the same holding, and the agricultural fields do not become forestry land merely because the same owner also manages woodland.

That matters for the Class A and B size tests. Land in a primary forestry use should not normally be counted towards the agricultural unit merely to reach the 5-hectare Class A threshold. Woodland can count as agricultural land where its woodland use is genuinely ancillary to farming the land for other agricultural purposes.

What about agroforestry and mixed uses?

Agroforestry needs particular care. If trees are genuinely subordinate to the agricultural use, for example shelter, shade, soil protection or another function supporting grazing or cropping, the land may remain agricultural. If forestry is the primary use and the agricultural activity is merely ancillary or incidental, Class E may apply.

If agriculture and forestry are genuinely competing primary uses of the same land, there is a risk of a mixed use which fits neither right comfortably. Planning Inspectors have treated Class E as requiring forestry to be the primary use of the relevant land, while a recent Class A appeal treated mixed agricultural and non-agricultural use as falling outside the agricultural Part 6 right. Where the distinction affects an important building or track, establishing the lawful use before relying on Part 6 is sensible.

Does planting woodland itself need planning permission?

Section 55(2)(e) of the 1990 Act provides that using land for agriculture or forestry, including afforestation, is not itself development for planning purposes. So changing the use of a field from agriculture to genuine forestry does not normally require planning permission merely for that change of use.

That does not mean every operation associated with woodland creation is automatically authorised. Buildings, roads, engineering works and other operations still need their own planning route, and afforestation can require separate Forestry Commission environmental assessment or consent under the forestry EIA regime.

Reasonably necessary does real work

A proposal is not permitted simply because a farmer would find it useful. The development must fall within the particular Class and, where the Class requires it, be reasonably necessary for agriculture or forestry. The evidence should explain what the holding does, why the development is needed, why its scale is appropriate and how it will be used.

Equally, the GPDO does not impose a universal minimum turnover or profitability test. The Alkham Part 6 appeal shows that the agricultural trade or business question is evidential and should be assessed from the operation as a whole.

Prior approval is not a full planning application

Where Part 6 requires prior notification, the underlying planning permission comes from the GPDO. The local planning authority first decides whether its prior approval is required for the specified matters. If it says prior approval is required, approval must then be obtained before development begins. The authority is not entitled to turn that process into a conventional planning application and consider unrelated planning issues.

The exact procedure differs between Classes A, B and E, so use the relevant page rather than assuming that every agricultural or forestry proposal follows the same 28-day route.

Think ahead before using Part 6

Part 6 can affect future development choices. In particular, current Class Q prevents the agricultural-to-residential right being used where development under Class A(a) or Class B(a) of Part 6 has been carried out on the established agricultural unit during the preceding 10 years. A perfectly lawful new barn or extension today can therefore matter to a residential conversion strategy later.

There are also restrictions where Class Q or Class S development has already taken place on the established agricultural unit. If the holding has a mixed planning history, check the chronology before committing to works.

How Planning Geek can help

We can review the agricultural or forestry use, identify the correct permitted development route, check the unit and constraint tests, prepare prior notification or prior approval submissions, advise on evidence of reasonable necessity and deal with a full planning application or appeal where Part 6 is not available. For rural work, getting the route right at the beginning is usually cheaper than arguing about it after a building or track has gone in.

See also Class Q for agricultural buildings to homes and Class R for flexible commercial uses.

Other Agricultural Sections

Continue through the GPDO: Part 5 – Caravan sites and recreational campsites | Part 7 – Non-domestic extensions, alterations etc.

Part 6 Agricultural & Forestry Page Updated: 23rd September 2026