[Marlow12]

I am buying a house which has a small garden that backs on to 1 acre of agricultural land which we can buy. I want to be able to use this land to walk my dog , keep the paddock short , put a chair and a table  to have a cup of tea and also have some trees and plants. Apparently the local council and certain residents of the village will complain if you breathe wrongly !!! Does anyone have a list or a document that lets you know what and what you cannot do on agricultural land. I have heard of people having formal complaints put in because they have a few flower tubs on the paddock / agricultural land. 

[tommytink]

I can’t imagine anyone’s going to complain about you having a cup of tea on your land!! I think most of the time the objections are related to buildings, shelters etc.

[Buttermilk]

In some areas the councils are paranoid about losing agricultural land.  Grass is agricultural especially if topped and not mown.  However a table and chairs is not agricultural so should not be left in situ.  A wild flower meadow may be got away with but the arable neighbours may not be happy with weed seeds spreading onto their land.  Remember a weed is just a plant growing in the wrong place.

[bj_cardiff]

I would buy it and then see what I could get away with, would you be getting any livestock at all? Even maybe a couple of pet sheep?

In the meantime I would apply for a holding number (CPH) for the land - which will give it an agricultural number and identify it as such in your name. There are no 'rules' about how often you have to graze a field for it to be agricultural.

I'd just be wary of making any changes that could be interpritied as it being used for non-agricultural uses. Parking vehicles or caravans on it etc.

[chrismahon]

Our old council got very stroppy when agricultural land to the rear of village houses was split up sold to the households. The arguments went on for years, in some cases blocking the sale of the houses and causing an awful lot of stress. Original boundaries had to remain and the grass could only be cut twice a year, which meant a domestic mower couldn't manage and there was no access for the agricultural equipment needed. Nothing was allowed on it and they even got stroppy about planting trees. The underlying reason I think the reason the problems for the owners were made so severe was that the land backed onto a Town Councellor's garden and she, being a rather unpopular local character, wasn't offered any of it.

[Rosemary]

Frankly, my view is if you aren't going to farm agricultural land, then leave it for someone who will. We don't have a surfeit of such land and what we have should be put to productive use.