[fawcettpark]

Looking for advice hoping you guys can help.
We are surrounded by rough grazing land which the farmer is selling and been told it will go to forestry.
Struggling to find  any information on how this will affect us.
Concerns we have are we have private well water / loss of light ie how close can they plant / access roads where likely to be  etc.
We may have the option to purchase some of the land but don't know enough to say which bits are best to buy.

[Fleecewife]

Presumably coniferous plantations.  These will cause a lot of shade, and change your microclimate, for example blocking the wind from the direction of the plantings, and perhaps creating frost pockets, depending on the lie of the land and something of a rain shadow, perhaps snow drifting. 

Were it me, I would want to be sure that the conifers were planted well back, with deciduous native trees closer to your property.  They are supposed to do this next to roads now, but you may have to consult your solicitor to make sure this happens in your case around your land.  Have a close look at your land and imagine it with tall trees all around.  Then you will know specific things you are not happy about, rather than just 'the trees will be too close'.


You would want to insist on good fencing, and if you can, get it at their expense, to ensure the safety of your livestock.  Very difficult extracting livestock and dogs from plantations!

Not knowing the layout of your holding, in general I would want my ground to be open to the south, and perhaps sheltered from the prevailing wind, usually SW.  That would mean buy the land to the south, and let them put trees to the SW and maybe NE if you suffer from snow.
Of course until the land has sold you won't know any purchaser's actual intentions.

[fawcettpark]

Thanks for the advice.
Yes it's going to be  conifer plantations. Land rises to the East so we have a concern about low sun in winter which doesn't get much above the hill and that's without any trees.
We were hoping that they would fence didn't know what the rules were on this. I guess Solicitor will be able to help ?

[macgro7]

That will also affect water holding capacity of your land and land arou d you

[Zyg]

We cut out a few mature trees near the house and it made a huge difference. Suddenly we could see a bright yellow disc in the sky and it was light and warm in the yard.

[henchard]

There is no requirement for them to fence the land as far as I know, it is for any keeper of stock to fence to stop his/her animals escaping. That said they probably will fence to stop animals such as deer getting in and eating saplings.

[fawcettpark]

Slightly worried about the water holding capacity of the land as we are on well water. Didn't run out last year in the very dry weather. Wonder if there are any regulations and how we find them. I am assuming they will be putting in drainage ditches.
Do you know roughly a price for fencing ideally would like to get 10 acres some of this is walled but not much.

[SallyintNorth]

Do you know roughly a price for fencing ideally would like to get 10 acres some of this is walled but not much.

We used to pay just short of £5 per metre in Cumbria including materials for top quality materials and workmanship.  If you’ve good ground for fencing (not too stony, deep enough to sink a good 30” of each post in the ground, etc) then it’s worth paying for a top job.  If (as we are here), the soil isn’t deep enough and it’s wet ground to boot, especially if other than level, then you may feel you’d be better going for a cheaper, less high quality job, because the fence will need replacing sooner anyway.

[doganjo]

Do you know roughly a price for fencing ideally would like to get 10 acres some of this is walled but not much.

We used to pay just short of £5 per metre in Cumbria including materials for top quality materials and workmanship.  If you’ve good ground for fencing (not too stony, deep enough to sink a good 30” of each post in the ground, etc) then it’s worth paying for a top job.  If (as we are here), the soil isn’t deep enough and it’s wet ground to boot, especially if other than level, then you may feel you’d be better going for a cheaper, less high quality job, because the fence will need replacing sooner anyway.

£5 a metre - is that just post and wire?  I'm about to fence the garden of my new home and that is 110 metres all round, including a drive gate and an access gate for the septic tank emptying pipes.  I'm putting in horizontal hit and miss ranch type fencing.  Cost will be £2000 for materials and another £2000 for labour.  I've had three quotes and they are all much the same 

[SallyintNorth]

7’6” round Posts and strainers, high tensile stock fencing, one strand plain wire above and below, one strand barbed wire atop all that