Bro Morgannwg
Steel buildings in Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale has some of the flattest, most arable land in South Wales — mixed farming, much of it on limestone, with horses and smallholdings close to Cardiff. It is largely off the coalfield. The questions here are more often about grain and machinery storage, equestrian buildings and planning in attractive countryside close to a lot of neighbours. Limestone usually makes a good formation, but it can hide voids, so the trial hole still matters.
Buildings designed, supplied and erected by South West Steel Buildings across Vale of Glamorgan, including Barry, Penarth, Cowbridge, Llantwit Major, St Athan and Rhoose.
- Planning authority
- The council
- Vale of Glamorgan Council
- Protected landscape
- None
- No National Park, AONB or World Heritage Site.
- On the coalfield
- No
- Not on the South Wales coalfield.
- Drainage approval
- The council
- Needed at 100 m² or more.
What to check first in Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale is close to a lot of people, so planning is about neighbours as much as rules: where the building sits, how high it is, and what it looks like from the road. Ground is usually kind, but dig a trial hole on limestone. Equestrian buildings are common here, and they need a planning application whatever the holding size, because horses are not agriculture.
Planning in Vale of Glamorgan
The planning authority for Vale of Glamorgan is Vale of Glamorgan Council. There is no National Park in the area, so it handles every farm building's prior notification and every planning application.
The rules themselves are Welsh, not English — 465 m² on 5 hectares or more, a 28-day notice, no Class Q — and are set out in our planning guide for farm buildings in Wales.
The ground, and the coal
Vale of Glamorgan: It is not on the South Wales coalfield, so mine workings are not the ground question here — slope, drainage and what is under the topsoil are.
The groundworks calculator works out the base for your own slope.
Drainage approval in Vale of Glamorgan
At 100 m² or more, drainage needs SuDS Approval Body approval first — for Vale of Glamorgan, Vale of Glamorgan Council. Roofing an existing yard? See the £40/m² yard roofing grant.
Buildings we put up in Vale of Glamorgan
Questions about building in Vale of Glamorgan
Who decides planning for a farm building in Vale of Glamorgan?
Vale of Glamorgan Council, for the whole of Vale of Glamorgan — there is no National Park here.
Is Vale of Glamorgan on the coalfield?
It is not on the South Wales coalfield, so mine workings are not the ground question here — slope, drainage and what is under the topsoil are.
Who approves drainage for a new building in Vale of Glamorgan?
Vale of Glamorgan Council, as the SuDS Approval Body for Vale of Glamorgan, for anything covering 100 square metres or more.
Do you build in Barry?
Yes. South West Steel Buildings design, supply and erect buildings across Vale of Glamorgan, including Barry, Penarth, Cowbridge, Llantwit Major, St Athan and Rhoose.
Tell us what you want to put up in Vale of Glamorgan
Rough span and length is enough. We reply the same day, wherever you are in Vale of Glamorgan.