Paragraph 84: Building Your Own Home in the Countryside
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Building your own home under Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework (formerly Paragraph 80, 79, or 55) offers a unique opportunity to create something extraordinary. For self-builders who are serious about great design—and willing to meet the policy’s rigorous standards—it can be one of the few viable routes to developing on otherwise protected countryside or Green Belt land.
A Rare Opportunity
The allure of Paragraph 84 lies in the possibility. While rural land can be acquired at a lower cost than formally allocated development plots, planning permission is reserved for proposals that demonstrate truly exceptional design quality.
In areas like the Midlands and the Cotswolds—where natural beauty meets strict planning controls—Paragraph 84 offers a rare opportunity: to create a singular, site-responsive home. But it is not a route for cutting corners.
These homes must be bold yet sensitive, conceptually robust and technically rigorous. The bar is high—and rightly so. Exceptional design, landscape integration, and environmental performance are usually required.
We take a more organic approach in the style of architecture we develop, concerning paragraph 84. Creating designs that look to be shaped from the earth and coming from within the land itself. Our work blends distinctive modern forms with contextual sensitivity, resulting in buildings that are as unique as the settings they inhabit.
To read more about the process for Paragraph 84 permission, you can click the link
1. Be of Exceptional Quality
There’s no checklist for what constitutes "exceptional quality", but safe to say this isn’t about recycling a plan from Pinterest, and it’s not the bog standard new-build home either. Paragraph 84 homes must be fully site-specific, innovative in structure or materials, and thoughtful in their relationship with the landscape.
Landscape design is not optional here. It must be integrated and carry equal weight to the architectural design itself.
2. Be Truly Outstanding
“Outstanding” means more than just aesthetically pleasing. It refers to boldness, originality, and experiential quality. Previous versions of the policy emphasised "innovation", and while that wording has technically been removed, innovation is still implicitly required, especially in how you address sustainability, site responsiveness, and construction methods.
Paragraph 84 homes are not about blending in quietly. They are about creating legacies—architecture that reflects its time while respecting its place.
3. Reflect the Highest Standards in Architecture
This is perhaps the hardest bar to meet. Sustainability must be embedded into the fabric of the building. That doesn’t just mean solar panels or a heat pump—it means a coherent design narrative where orientation, thermal strategy, materials, and structure all reinforce one another.
The house should feel like one cohesive system, where every choice supports the whole, and the environment informs every aspect of the design. A patchwork of green features won’t cut it. We have previously covered the importance of dealing with overheating in your project. You can read more by clicking the link.
4. Help Raise Standards in Rural Design
Most rural homes in Britain are still built to uninspiring, mass-market formulas. Paragraph 84 homes are expected to challenge that.
Your project should be an exemplar—a demonstrable improvement on the standard. This could be through the use of local and natural materials, site-specific construction techniques, or a deeply integrated environmental approach.
In short, your project should not just sit well in the countryside—it should raise the architectural bar for what rural living can be.
5. Enhance the Setting and Be Sensitive to the Local Area
This might sound like a contradiction: how can a modern design be both outstanding and sensitive?
But this is the paradox—and the challenge—of Paragraph 84. The design must elevate its setting while respecting its history. That might mean using stone from a nearby quarry, framing a view that others ignore, or designing in response to a local building tradition.
It’s not about pastiche. It’s about presence. If your home improves how people experience a place—visually, emotionally, and environmentally—you’re on the right path.
Is It Worth It?
Yes, but only with the right team.
Fees for Paragraph 84 homes typically range from 12–20% of the build cost. That reflects the depth of work required: landscape strategy, planning negotiations, design detailing, and technical coordination. It’s not cheap, but it's essential. Working with an architect or planner who does not know what they are doing may leave you with 10,000s of fees spent on a rejected application - this is not something to be cutting corners on.
If you're exploring a self-build on a countryside plot in the Midlands, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire or Cotswold fringe, we're actively working in these regions and would be glad to advise on feasibility and strategy.
