[Remy]

The old owner of our property still owns a four acre field next to ours, which she initially said we could buy then changed her mind and said she was going to build a Log Cabin with legs on it to live in, the fact it was above the ground would mean it wouldn't need planning permission   Surely that can't be the case as then everyone who owned a field would be doing it .. 

The field is just a grazing field and has no buildings on it.

[doganjo]

I think it depends on the council involved, the size of the building, whether it is a holiday home (only occupied some parts of the year) and what the construction type is. At the very least I would think she'd need a building warrant.  Why don't you ask your local planning department?

[lachlanandmarcus]

You are right, they would if it was that easy!

She is confusing the ability to place the cabin there (temporary structure with no foundations), which she may well be able to do and use it as an ancillary building to her main home, with the planning consents required to live in it as a residence on a permanent basis. The first is probably straightforward (although any facilities like toilets etc would then bring in a lot of building regs and suspicions on the nature of the usage), the second she is very unlikely to get on a greenfield site unless she can show a business case for doing so in terms of the scale and nature of the (say agricultural) business she is operating from there. Otherwise it falls in to the new housing in the countryside presumption against that nearly all councils operate (some small exceptions like the LILI scheme in one area in Wales)

She would have to show that her business requires her to be on site 24x7, that there are no suitable existing properties available  within a suitable radius, come up with a thorough business plan for the business and potentially then still only get a temporary permission for 5 years or less, following which if the business plan is proved to be rubbish they can require the property to be removed.

The councils policies should all be online in the local plan, worth looking up to see what they say.

[robert waddell]

there are log cabins built not that far from me   i think it is 2 no more than 3 and they got a managers house built after  i never seen the justification for the managers house his farm was just over the road and a quiet one at that

[Sylvia]

I say, if people own their own bit of land and want to live on it and provided it's not going to interfere greatly with your life then let them!! If they do it resonsibly, composting lavs., sensible disposal of rubbish etc. who will it harm?

[robert waddell]

well i don't agree  your idea would only lead to sporadic development with no continuity and no boundary's
just imagine you build your idyllic country retreat in the middle of nowwhere then you neighbour decides he wants a house with a Lorrie yard running 24/7  by the same rules you got your house he has a house and business no right of appeal no chance of objections

[Rosemary]

I'm with Robert on this one 

Dan was in Southern Ireland a couple of years ago. Plainly, planning control was a bit slacker than here. He said just about every field along the roads had a house in it - from ranch style to Gothic to 60s modern. He described it as hideous as I can imagine it was.

We've all seen buildings that we've thought "How did that get PP?" (which I suppose isn't an argument FOR planning regs ).

[lachlanandmarcus]

Instead of allowing an ireland style free for all (which I agree, has NOT improved the environment of Ireland and proves that many people have truly ghastly ideas of what is appropriate in a rural setting), I believe that a certain proportion of all PPs for housing schemes/estates should be available for cooperative and self building. In this way the developers wouldnt have the whole thing stitched up as they do at present (aided by the bribes of the section whatever it is 'contributions', but also you would get a mix of architecture and styles of houses rather than the hideous identikit estates.

[Sylvia]

well i don't agree  your idea would only lead to sporadic development with no continuity and no boundary's
just imagine you build your idyllic country retreat in the middle of nowwhere then you neighbour decides he wants a house with a Lorrie yard running 24/7  by the same rules you got your house he has a house and business no right of appeal no chance of objections

I did say, Robert, as long as it didn't interfere with anyone's way of life. And(probably sparking another row ) who says that anyone has the God given right to a life of absolute peace and quiet and pretty houses in their view? Manor houses, chocolate box cottages, brick built bungalows, log cabins, even tin shacks. All someone's home and castle.
( I have a lovely ditching spade here I could send )

[robert waddell]

i have a big ditching spade here thankyou
coventry after the war they stayed in railway carriages

[MAK]

Land is cheap here but renovating an old fermette costs a lot and you need the mayor to approve external alterations.
So we have Log Cabbins going up all around. Some "in progress" have the proverbial white ford transit and English caravan parked up as they DIY it on the cheap. 

Odd that I can not fit dormer windows in my roof but we have Canadian style log cabinsallowed in this very traditional and rural area.

I agree with those who argue for more automoney and freedom from the bureaucrats but in this case no Log cabin  in my back yard thanks.

[lachlanandmarcus]

yep Im afraid that the place that log cabins 'fit in' is in the middle of a deep dark evergreen wood, not a british or french field!!

[doganjo]

If I could find a deep dark evergreen wood to buy I would do just that!

[deepinthewoods]

 

[Larkscrew]

We own 20 acres of land which has 3 fishing ponds and a farmer who grazes his sheep on the rest of the land. We also grow vegetables and fruit for our own consumption.  We built a wooden hut to make cups of tea, shelter from the weather, keep our tools and fishing equipment in and entertain our family on bank holidays.
Yesterday we had a notice from the local planning officer saying someone had notified them that we were living on site. We now have to meet the officer on site to prove we don't live there. But I am now worried we shouldn't have built the hut. Any advice?