Anyone own some green belt?

Author
Discussion

russ_a

4,584 posts

212 months

Monday 8th October 2012
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I would create an Orchard if it was mine, maybe with a nice pond at the bottom.


elanfan

5,520 posts

228 months

Monday 8th October 2012
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Side issue - from the aerial photo it looks as though one of the neighbours has access to the field as there appears to be a bit of a path. Worth enquiring about whether they have any rights of way over it.

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Monday 8th October 2012
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elanfan said:
Side issue - from the aerial photo it looks as though one of the neighbours has access to the field as there appears to be a bit of a path. Worth enquiring about whether they have any rights of way over it.
Is that the arc that separates "B from "C"? If it is, that is actually a fence. The ground looks trodden because the horse walks along it. The only access is from the road/drive directly in front of the house, which is a bridleway.

Edited by blueST on Monday 8th October 15:54

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Monday 8th October 2012
quotequote all
LooneyTunes said:
Depends where you are, but in Cheshire I know people paying £25 - 50 per horse.
Probably a bit less up here in the Pennines then. Is that per week or month?


LooneyTunes said:
If you're leaving horses turned out all the time, then you need to keep quite a low density of animals otherwise the place will get churned up more than you'd probably want (and even then, areas by gates can still end up a bit swampy if you're not careful).
Even with just one horse on it now, it nicely churned up at the gate. I'm guessing it's two horses max.


LooneyTunes said:
In terms of mowing, I know one chap who essentially treats about 20 acres as a lawn without an issue. He seems to like nothing more than trundling up and down with his tractor.
This appeals to me a lot too. I don't think a regular garden tractor would be up to the job though, due to the gradient and uneven ground.

LooneyTunes said:
Regarding buildings, check out permitted development (especially with respect to field shelters and barns) and temporary structures. Can surprising what you put on agricultural land.
I'm going to ring the planners this week and see if they will give me a bit of off the record guidance. At the very least I'd like somewhere to store a mower and other garden tools securely, and ideally space (not necessarily covered) for one car.

Fingers crossed we'll be moving in during winter so I'll have a few months to plot and scheme before grass starts growing.

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Monday 8th October 2012
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mx5cl said:
It all depends on the authority, some are quite happy to discuss matters informally and quite openly (although they will be careful to state that it is their own professional opinion, thus no guarantee) and offer advice whilst others will direct you down a more formal route of submitting requests for advice in writing and some may try to charge for the service.
It's the former I'm hoping for at this stage, we'll see how I get on this week.

mx5cl said:
In your case I would have thought area A could be considered residential curtilage whilst as you suspect B and C, which have a degree of separation would not. Residential curtilage obviously enjoys certain permitted development rights, as does agricultural land, however this depends on the size of the agricultural unit and I suspect that owing to its size, this land may not enjoy any real agricultural permitted development rights.
In terms of the curtilage, that's exactly how I understand it to be. Prior to the land being bought by the current owner, it was part of a much larger farm so I hold some hope it may have agricultural rights. Which brings me on to...

mx5cl said:
If you want further generic information on green belt and the considerations relating to it, google "National Planning Policy Framework" and look at paras 79-81 & 87-90.
From a look at this policy, "buildings for agriculture and forestry" may well be permissible. So that gives me hope that I could have a store for equipment needed for maintaining that piece of land, which would be good. Clearly, it would need checking out thoroughly, but there is hope.

Thanks for taking the time to reply smile

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Monday 8th October 2012
quotequote all
russ_a said:
I would create an Orchard if it was mine, maybe with a nice pond at the bottom.
Possibly a ridiculous notion, but I can well imagine a widely space orchard, with me trundling between the rows of trees on my little tractor. It's fairly exposed up there, so I'm not sure what would grow.

mx5cl

127 posts

140 months

Monday 8th October 2012
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blueST said:
mx5cl said:
It all depends on the authority, some are quite happy to discuss matters informally and quite openly (although they will be careful to state that it is their own professional opinion, thus no guarantee) and offer advice whilst others will direct you down a more formal route of submitting requests for advice in writing and some may try to charge for the service.
It's the former I'm hoping for at this stage, we'll see how I get on this week.

mx5cl said:
In your case I would have thought area A could be considered residential curtilage whilst as you suspect B and C, which have a degree of separation would not. Residential curtilage obviously enjoys certain permitted development rights, as does agricultural land, however this depends on the size of the agricultural unit and I suspect that owing to its size, this land may not enjoy any real agricultural permitted development rights.
In terms of the curtilage, that's exactly how I understand it to be. Prior to the land being bought by the current owner, it was part of a much larger farm so I hold some hope it may have agricultural rights. Which brings me on to...

mx5cl said:
If you want further generic information on green belt and the considerations relating to it, google "National Planning Policy Framework" and look at paras 79-81 & 87-90.
From a look at this policy, "buildings for agriculture and forestry" may well be permissible. So that gives me hope that I could have a store for equipment needed for maintaining that piece of land, which would be good. Clearly, it would need checking out thoroughly, but there is hope.

Thanks for taking the time to reply smile
No problem, it seems to me you have some realistic ideas that on the whole should be feasible, good luck with talking to your local planners, let us know how you get on! smile

LooneyTunes

6,867 posts

159 months

Monday 8th October 2012
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£25 - 50 is per horse per week - BUT (and sorry if I've misled) this is the going rate with stabling.

Turned out is £15 - 20 per week.

In terms of the space you'd need, very rough rule of thumb is ~1 horse per acre if they're out all the time (although 1 horse to 1.5 acres will do less damage). Better still is to split the plot and rotate the bits you're using.

As for mowing, will a proper tractor fit? Older ones are nigh on indestructible.

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Monday 8th October 2012
quotequote all
LooneyTunes said:
As for mowing, will a proper tractor fit? Older ones are nigh on indestructible.
That last sentence has resulted in me spending 4 hours on Farm Trader and Ebay! Yes, a proper tractor will fit. They seem like better value than ride-ons and compact tractors too.

AdeTuono

7,258 posts

228 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
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Get one! This is my '59 David Brown. Bought it last year for around £1600. Hitch a topper to the back and drag it round. Plus, with the loader, I can pull engines out as well. As said, indestructible. I don't need it, but I want it, and will spend some time over the winter tinkering.

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
AdeTuono said:


Get one! This is my '59 David Brown. Bought it last year for around £1600. Hitch a topper to the back and drag it round. Plus, with the loader, I can pull engines out as well. As said, indestructible. I don't need it, but I want it, and will spend some time over the winter tinkering.
Brilliant. As soon as we're in, one of those is going on my Christmas list!

1point7bar

1,305 posts

149 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
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IIRC

The agricultural buildings planning exemption is for holdings at one site of more than 5ha.

You can get workshops,barns etc in smaller fields, if you earn a living from farming/forestry and can prove a need.

I would have thought greenbelt would be all about the parish junta council.

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
1point7bar said:
IIRC

The agricultural buildings planning exemption is for holdings at one site of more than 5ha.

You can get workshops,barns etc in smaller fields, if you earn a living from farming/forestry and can prove a need.
We would be well under 5Ha with that plot, and we wont be running a business growing stuff, so planning permission is likely to be needed then. Even with permitted development, your still supposed to get a certificate of compliance or something, so even that's not totally hassle free.

mx5cl

127 posts

140 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
blueST said:
1point7bar said:
IIRC

The agricultural buildings planning exemption is for holdings at one site of more than 5ha.

You can get workshops,barns etc in smaller fields, if you earn a living from farming/forestry and can prove a need.
We would be well under 5Ha with that plot, and we wont be running a business growing stuff, so planning permission is likely to be needed then. Even with permitted development, your still supposed to get a certificate of compliance or something, so even that's not totally hassle free.
You need to check the exact scope but more limited rights exist too between 0.4-5.0Ha (plus there are other caveats), the approval you would need is called prior notification

LooneyTunes

6,867 posts

159 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
blueST said:
LooneyTunes said:
As for mowing, will a proper tractor fit? Older ones are nigh on indestructible.
That last sentence has resulted in me spending 4 hours on Farm Trader and Ebay! Yes, a proper tractor will fit. They seem like better value than ride-ons and compact tractors too.
Glad to be of assistance! wink

Bits are usually pretty cheap and domestic use means nothing ever gets too stressed on them. Only thing you might want to consider if you're using for the odd job here and there is a battery conditioner.

Not sure if you're aware, but if you're lucky you can sometimes find tracked ones too.... I've no real use for one but may yet pull the trigger. After all, what's not to like about tracks?

dirty boy

14,703 posts

210 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
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As a side note, I have a piece of land opposite me similar to that in size, but almost completely overgrown now.

Can anyone give me an idea of what it would be worth if I were to make an offer on it?

I'd be making the offer on exactly the same basis - to preserve my view!

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
LooneyTunes said:
Glad to be of assistance! wink

Bits are usually pretty cheap and domestic use means nothing ever gets too stressed on them. Only thing you might want to consider if you're using for the odd job here and there is a battery conditioner.

Not sure if you're aware, but if you're lucky you can sometimes find tracked ones too.... I've no real use for one but may yet pull the trigger. After all, what's not to like about tracks?
I was eyeing up the Fordson Super Major in the PH classifieds. It got a front loader and rear forklift and everything!

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Thursday 11th October 2012
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mx5cl said:
No problem, it seems to me you have some realistic ideas that on the whole should be feasible, good luck with talking to your local planners, let us know how you get on! smile
Spurred on by the news we should be in by December :wishfullthinkingsmiley: I spoke to the council planners yesterday. They were very helpful sounding, but basically said I have to work on the assumption they wont let me put any sort of structure up, and then it's down to me to figure out how to convince them otherwise.

I wouldn't have any permitted development rights as it's not a working farm. She did say that if I submitted some basic plans of what I wanted to do, they would be happy to come to site, and give me an indication of how I might be able to get permission, or explain why I've got no chance! At the very least I would have to show that absolutely everything was done to minimise the visual impact of the building and that it was a necessity rather than a luxury.

I wanted to talk about some other stuff but didn't have time, will probably leave it until we're in before pursuing any further.

2stis

507 posts

175 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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1point7bar said:
I would have thought greenbelt would be all about the parish junta council.
Little evidence of that round where I live, which is predominantly greenbelt. The planning decisions are made at borough council level - the parish council can feed in any objections/support but it is pretty much ignored in my experience.

blueST

Original Poster:

4,398 posts

217 months

Thursday 24th January 2013
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Well, we've been in over a month now and I still haven't a clue what to do with this field. It's very steep, too steep to safely operate a tractor on I would say. So that's my idea of riding round on an old Massey Ferguson canned. I'm going to chop a bunch of ugly connifers down to improve the view but I've no idea how I'm going to keep the grass under control with out keeping animals, which I dont want to do for now.

Anyone know how I go about creating and maintaining it as a wild flowery meadow type of thing? Would it still need periodic mowing?