The Polytunnel Handbook

Green Books Ltd

Contents

Planning your Purchase

A step-by-step guide from first thoughts to ordering

Having made the decision that polytunnel ownership is for you, the temptation is to rush off and order one straight away. Catering for customers who do exactly that, there are some friendly-looking sellers around who keep everything looking very simple and offer you a choice of only a few different kits. Don't be fooled; this simplicity is for their benefit, not for yours. At best you will miss out on some of the choices that make polytunnels such a flexible asset: at worst you will end up with a completely unsuitable product.

On the other hand, approaching a polytunnel manufacturer directly can leave you bewildered by the range of products and accessories on offer: different films, different ventilation strategies and a choice of door options, to name but a few. In reality these things are only confusing if you are not clear about exactly what you need from your polytunnel, and that's why there are a few things to consider before you're completely ready to go ahead.

Planning permission

The very first thing you need to think about is whether anything is likely to prevent you from putting a tunnel where you would like to put it. You should contact your local council's planning department to find out if you need planning permission. Despite controversy over larger commercial applications, at the time of writing single-span tunnels for domestic use don't need permission in most areas, but the position varies depending on where you live; in Andy's stamping ground in West Dorset, for example, you don't need permission unless the structure is concreted into place or connected to mains services. We would advise anyone who is told that they need permission to ask for a copy of the relevant guidance that the planning officers follow, since there is often confusion between the rules for domestic use and those for commercial growers.

There is also a layer of more local bureaucracy to consider before you go any further. If the polytunnel is on your own property, this just means checking to see whether there are any restrictions written into your deeds. This is unlikely to be a hindrance, but if you are considering erecting the tunnel on an allotment, then there will probably be specific rules that you will have to follow. While you need to be aware of what these rules say, don't speak to the allotments manager until you have a better idea of just what you would like to do. Nothing is more likely to produce a negative reaction than vagueness on your part.

Decisions on use

Now it's time to ask yourself a very simple question, but one that often goes unasked; what exactly do you want to use your tunnel for? This question will strike at the very heart of your installation. All subsequent questions – where the tunnel will be sited, what size it should be, whether water will be needed – hinge on what you intend your polytunnel to do. For example, if you intend to use it to bring on hangin