[Tala Orchard]

WE don't house animals in our tunnel however we have now got two robins in residence does this count?

[sabrina]

I have mine in the garden and never thought I would need planning. Been up 5 years now. We get frogs using it in the winter time which cleans up slugs.

[Cgirdler]

Just fallen foul myself. I am under the 5 ha level and would need permission for anything on my land next to garden . Wanted to put up a 64 m square poly and they want to charge me 400 quid for the application. Absolutely ludicrous .

[katie]

We have just under 5 hectares and so needed to have full planning. Actually the neighbours are so foul that, even if we had 5 hectares, the planners would have had to call it in as there was so much hysteria. We won but it took six months of vitriol from the neighbours.

[ferretkeeper]

I saw the title and immediately thought Carmarthenshire CC - they are a nightmare. I never knew about the blog!

I did what they always say you should, arranged a meeting, (no charge thankfully) said what I planned and hoped to do, and in every case was told I need full PP (less than 5ha) and that he would refuse!!!!!

I have a polytunnel, yet to be put up in our lower field, a field shelter that has been stuck in the same spot for a couple of years now, and wanted to offer yurt/camping in our top field which has lovely views.

His response was that yurts would require change of use and we wouldn't get that outside the development line - who wants a yurt in their garden, who'd want to stay there?! The polytunnel would also need planning (got to have feet concreted in) as would the field shelter unless it was moved however often. Thing is I probably wouldn't get permission for the field shelter as there are houses nearby in all directions and animal housing has to be 400m from domestic dwellings I think.

I'm hoping to get round all this as planning fees are ridiculous, and neighbours would totally object, by renting enough land close by to take me past the 5 hectares so I only need to do the 28 Day Notice under Permitted Development.

Fingers crossed eh?!
 

[Bionic]

FK, yes fingers crossed for you 

[lachlanandmarcus]

FK that sounds a nifty plan. What happens if you then give up the rented land, could they make you remove it?


We are lucky here, having a lot of land is a headache in many ways but the one thing it does make a lot easier is this sort of thing. Have just put up a lambing/horse mobile shelter and know that it's fine (even have proper wheels for it not just skids but even if they were awkward, cos its for lambing and sheep winter shelter mainly and we are over 5ha by a long way, we could always say fine we will concrete it in under 28 day notice....:-)))

[katie]

I hate to say it but if the neighbours object, it could be called in anyway, more than 5h or not.

[lachlanandmarcus]

But since no one can see it from their house they would find it quite tricky to argue their case :-))))

[katie]

In our case, people complained because it could be seen from the road! It seems that other people have rights over views over your land. 

[lachlanandmarcus]

In our case, people complained because it could be seen from the road! It seems that other people have rights over views over your land. 

Thankfully we aren't on a road either, a mile up a private track...:-)))) phew. But since the place can be seen distantly from a footpath, we would try to site it sensitively (we also paint all of the wooden buildings, stables, field shelters etc dark green, it costs quite a bit to do but they really do blend in much more from a distance)

[katie]

We had to put a hedge in . As we were going to do that anyway and we no more wish to see other people than they us, it was no big deal. Just took 6 months to get permission. In the end it took the District Councillor to come and say' It's an agricultural building on agricultural land. Where's the problem?' for the planners to give in. Round here, bad feeling was caused by a huge number of tunnels on a site in Herefordshire and since then, everyone's needed permission. Not every Council demands it.

[littleacorn]

If you have over 5 hectares and put in for 'permitted development' permission for your polytunnel/storage barn etc - so long as the planning dept are happy it meets all the criteria (things like type of materials being used, siting within the land - usually near to other buildings etc, and at least 400m from the nearest neighbours house if it is to house animals, and the biggest one - that there is an actual need for it) - the neighbours can't say anything.  In fact they wouldn't even probably know about it as the council don't put up notices for permitted development applications and they have only 28 days from receipt to approve it or come back to you to say it needs full planning permission because it doesn't meet the criteria.

[ferretkeeper]

That's what I'm banking on LA, no signs up on my lamppost, it will all be done and dusted before anyone else knows about it!

I need the polytunnel to extend the season and grow my high value produce, in fact grow anything in this part of Wales. It is going to be sited in the most sheltered/sunny/flat part of the field, not close to our outbuildings but it's the only suitable location for it. It will be pretty close to and easily visible from my less than pleasant neighbours, and from a public footpath, although I do intend to improve the existing hedge - bit bare in places and a lot is deciduous so useless in winter! But no animals will be housed in it so that sorts that out.

Not sure what happens if we don't keep the rented land, LaM but if that happened I'd have about 60 pigs to find room for so that wouldn't be my first concern lol!

[katie]

We looked into renting extra land to take us over the 5 hectare limit but on the planning information, it said you had to have an agreement to rent for 10 years so that put us off that route.