Planning permission for rural winery in Sussex

Viticulture is a fast growing agricultural business in Great Britain. Over the last 10 years the number of hectares planted with grapevines has grown by circa 200%. It is a use that positively contributes to the rural economy and generates local employment opportunities as well as economic, social and environmental benefits for local communities.

From a planning perspective, viticulture is interesting as whilst the growing of the vines is considered to be an agricultural use, there can be a misunderstanding on whether a winery building used to make and store wine produced on site is agricultural or falls into an industrial use.

We have worked closely with a family in Horsham who have started their own viticulture business. They have aims of producing top quality English wine whilst providing for the local economy. Circa 8 hectares of vines have been planted which are now producing fruit. To date, off site facilities have been used to produce wine, however the family wish to build and operate their own winery on site allowing them to produce and store their wine.

In order to provide the applicants with flexibility moving forward and following review of precedents within the surrounding area, we chose to submit a planning application, this utilised class 6A agricultural building permitted development rights as a fall back. This approach focussed on Horsham District Council’s support for rural economic development. It included details of the winery building, its use and external areas. Following careful negotiation with the council, full planning permission was granted.

The applicants are aiming to build out quickly in order to enable production and bottling on site in the next few years. Cheers to that!

How we can help you with your project

Following our review of the project, analysis of policy and context, we effectively negotiated with the LPA to achieve planning approval for a positive rural viticulture business.

If you are looking to bring forward a winery project or need assistance with securing a rural economic use, contact our planning team via enquiries@plainview.co.uk.  Alternatively you can call us on 01242 501003 to see how we can best assist you, providing the site address and a brief overview of your project. We value your privacy and any information which you provide will not be shared outside of our company and will only be used in relation to your enquiry.

Content correct at the time of publication. For the most up-to-date advice or to discuss your project, please contact our team directly.