[bluejules]

With PPS7 having gone it's actually worse than ever because no-one really knows what view each LPA will take. Lots are applying the function and finance test, but some aren't.

I'm working away at the moment but OH tells me he is going to the planning 'drop in surgery' tomorrow. That should be interesting!

[lachlanandmarcus]

Good luck Bluejules, I hope things look a lot more encouraging after the meeting 

[doganjo]

Yup, good luck from me too 

[SallyintNorth]

We are all pro farming here - you will just have to take my word for it as Im not sure what else I can say

[lachlanandmarcus]

 

 

[SallyintNorth]

That made me  &  , thanks llm! 

[katie]

I think you could certainly fight the function test. A bit of sustainability in the plan might also help.

[bluejules]

Thanks for the encouragement guys!
Well, OH has been to see the planning department today. They are applying both the function and finance test from PPS7.
The planning bloke thought we would find it difficult to meet the requirements of the finance test with just 9 acres, but the most important challenge is providing a 'watertight case' for needing to live on site.

The good news is that he said that the building itself would have very, very little impact on the surrounding area, so a design and access statement would be nothing more than a formality. So if we can get through the finance and function tests he said it wouldn't fail on design or situation.

Any advice on the function test? So far I'm saying that we need to be there to ensure that our animals require 24 hour care -  but apparently there are animals that, in the eyes of planners, 'need' more round the clock care than others - is this correct? There is a really bad predator problem round there too (mostly foxes). We were actually going to get a couple of alpacas as part of the anti-fox strategy, but I worry that they'll think we're playing the alpaca card as a shortcut. Does anyone know of anyone who has had success with the function test? - if so, what case did they put forward?

[FiB]

... I dont know about Alpacas for the function test... but they are by no means fail safe on the fox front. A neighbour of ours has quite a few (they are in the planning process  , but they have 80 acres.  They got the mobile home up about 6 months ago and are now in the 3 year functional/financial period) including crea and they have now given up on the chickens and turkeys - Mr Fox has had em all.  3 times.  Interested to hear what people say about animals you need to live on site for... We have sheep pigs and chickens and you could definately do all that without living on the land, as long as it was reasonably close (is that part of the functional test - that there is no suitable housing within a reasonable distance?).  Its a blimmin minefield isnt it - good luck

[Rare Breeds at Palacerigg]

As far as my experience goes, Plannings 'concern' is usually either the visual element or the impact element. If you have services on site already and your daily water & sewage impact is light, you should argue this case. If you have no services actually on your land, you could consider an off-grid build. This might be a bit more left field than you might like to consider but have a search for 'Earthships'. They are stand alone buidlings with rainwater harvesting, renewable energy systems and on-site waste recycling and treatment. i.e. NO impact on the environment. They are not the easiest to get through the Plannning system but they are getting easier. It took me over a year but that was the first one in our LA area. There is a great one in Skerray up north and there is also a great bank of volunteers wanting to help build them.
Just a thought...

http://earthship.com/
http://earthshipeurope.org

[bluejules]

Cheers Rare Breeds! The planners didn't seem too bothered about visuals or impact - there's already services to the barn and there's a septic tank too. The hardest thing, it seems, is going to be persuading them that we have to live on site. I'm still thinking about this one...

[doganjo]

Alpacas?

[katie]

I'm afraid the alpaca loophole has long been closed. Having said that, one farm did get approval recently BUT had first class fibre animals, a proper breeding programme and business plan, not like some applications I have seen with a few motley animals and no basic idea of how to make money from them. It's very, very hard to think of a niche business idea to make money from a few acres AND have a need to live there. My sympathies.

[bluejules]

Looks like it's a lost cause then?

There's definitely a local market for the stuff we're going to produce...it's showing that we need to be on site that's the problem. Obviously, we're worried about things like fire, pipes freezing, security, predators - but I don't know if any these things will make a difference.

The previous owner used to run it as a smallholding and lived on site in a bungalow, but the bungalow has now been split from the plot.

[katie]

What are you producing?
No, burst pipes etc or even security aren't enough. Do you have a range of stock?
Don't give up. What about a planning agent. Expensive but may be worth it. They know how to approach the planners and often are ex-planning officers themselves.