[excitedbutnervous]

Hello,

I am new to this, and at the very first stages of sorting this.

In the 80's my dad bought some greenbelt land (6 acres) in a very desirable location. This has since been gifted to me.

Initially, I thought - bloody brilliant, I can build a nice house, have a fantastic garden for the dog and try to live an 'off grid'/ 'sustainable' life.

Obviously after a hell of a lot of research, I now know that having a residential plot on Greenbelt land is highly unrealistic.

So, after discussions with a member of my wife's family (who is a butcher), he mentioned how it would be highly desirable for him as he could use it to graze a few of his cows/ lambs on this field. We would need to provide a 'residential' location for whoever is looking after the animals on this land. It would be great for him as he can say that he sells locally sourced meat, and he already 'controls' the meat from a pig farm. It would be great for me, as I can earn some money from the field, and potentially we could get planning permission for residential purposes.

If we do do this, I would want it to be as ethical as possible, and that's what he would want. I know that we could keep limited numbers. He would also want to keep ducks.

Is it possible to use greenbelt land for agricultural purposes? Has anyone on here done this and lived onsite?

Please do not be too harsh with me. As I said earlier this is in its very early stages and there is no way I would take on a full undertaking of this without exploring every avenue.

[landroverroy]

Not wishing to burst your bubble, but having a few cattle/sheep on 6 acres does not constitute a need for on site accommodation. You can happily leave them to their own devices and just check them once or twice a day. Even at calving/lambing time they only need extra care for a very small part of the year. Many people with sheep and cattle live several miles away - including me.


To justify such close supervision you need to have some form of intensive agriculture such as a hatchery, battery chickens, intensive calf rearing or intensive pigs. Because of the numbers involved and, in many cases the controlled environment, enterprises such as these require much more detailed and immediate attention than do a few animals happily grazing in a field.
 

[Anke]

6 acres is quite small, and you would not be able to use "Agricultural consent" for building any agri buildings either (such as sheds for winter accommodation).


However, one thing that would possibly be quite lucrative would be looking into setting up allotments, or even renting the land to someone wanting to run a market garden... you would need water on site though.

[arobwk]

Of course, if one wanted to build as many new homes as 6 acres will accommodate I'm sure the planners would be more sympathetic to the development of your greenbelt land !!!!!!!!


Cynical comment apart, you have already received good, realistic advice from others @excitedbutnervous.