Outbuildings repair or rebuild

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My parents have a small holding in a Cheshire village off a main road which was originally a working farm owned by my grandparents. My parents are now in their 70's and the property which, is no longer a working farm and hasn't been for the last 20 years, needs some desperate repair work.

There is an old lean-to to the side of a sandstone building measuring 5.7m x 12.5m constructed of bricks & mortar to each end, timber posts, rafters and corrugated panels; the condition is poor as the timbers are rotten, the roof leaks and no longer has flashing at the junction with the sandstone building and the brickwork is collapsing. One end of the Lean-to was damaged in a car accident as that end is exposed to roadway and was dismantled but not rebuilt some years ago although the foundation and concrete floor still remains and is in use. At the frond end of the lean-to was a Barn which was dismantled before it collapsed ahead of storms last year and again the footprint remains and the space is still in use.

We have had conflicting or confusing advice about how to go about repairing the buildings and in particular the lean-to (the lean-to is and has always been a storage and workshop for equipment such as grounds keeping and maintenance tooling and machines relating only to the property and none of the buildings a relisted or are in a conservation area).

We have been told that dismantling the lean-to in sections and rebuilding in sections requires no planning or building control and, if the end building that was damaged in the car accident is to be rebuilt and the barn building reconstructed then planning and building control is required despite only replacing what was there already.

None of the buildings are to have a change of use, there are no plans to change their use in the future and single phase power supply for lighting and domestic sockets will remain although modern materials will be used

The concern is that by using 'Planners' they may not get the permission to reinstate the buildings or have the permission to continue using the buildings as they require.

Is anyone able to advise a good route to take, how to take it and what to expect from the planners??
Thanks in advance!
 
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Has the property's use as something other than a working farm been established?
 
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