Off grid Living - modern feasibility.

[saxonaxe]

I couldn't answer your question TeeDee. In my case I recall that in any correspondence with the Council they simply referred to 'the wood' which as stated was well over 300 acres. I think the rules in my case were as applied to the whole wood, the Council didn't apply different rules to owners of small areas within the main wood.
Just out of interest, my wood was 4 miles as the Crow flies from the nearest very small town and surrounded by farm land. In all the 8 years that I owned woodland there I never saw or had any contact with any Council officials. A couple of footpaths passed through the wood ( Not near me) and I think it was only the appearance of a solar panel roof, white plastic re-used window frames and a wind Genny that whistled at speed on a windy day, that upset the apple cart for my neighbour.

 

[demented dale]

Bump to this

IF one did own a piece of land - let say its a field with woodland
Under current planning regs and requirements what could one potentially build upon it?

How does one 'navigate' around requirements to get some sort of basic structure created? What usable structure can one have under normal rights or at least with as little hoop jumping as possible.

I'm sure we have people here that have explored this and have friends who have created certain lifestyles to accommodate planning restrictions.

there is a book called field to farm, tells you exactly how to do it legally and end up with a working farm and house. It can be a long process but if you follow it then thats what you get. dd xx

 

[HorseGuy]

Bump to this

IF one did own a piece of land - let say its a field with woodland
Under current planning regs and requirements what could one potentially build upon it?

How does one 'navigate' around requirements to get some sort of basic structure created? What usable structure can one have under normal rights or at least with as little hoop jumping as possible.

I'm sure we have people here that have explored this and have friends who have created certain lifestyles to accommodate planning restrictions.

Hi TeeDee,

I have never needed to apply for planning permission for anything so have very limited knowledge regarding any planning and legal aspects of living off grid. However I can share a some personal experiences with you which might be helpful.

As you know we have a few acres of land and have some small wooden horse shelters and tack rooms dotted around various fields. Before having these built we discussed the subject of planning permission with some local land owners, farmers and the company who built the shelters to ask what the situation was like. They all said you should have planning permission for any permanent structures which cannot be moved. However with wooden shelters/tack rooms and even some quite large barns you can have have them built onto metal ground frames with ‘skids’ so that the entire building can be hooked up to a 4x4 and towed around a field to a different position if required. These are technically not permanent structures so do not require any planning permission (you are supposed to move them a few of feet once every six months though). Over the past twenty years I have seen many dozens of these ‘mobile’ wooden structures dotted around our local area and not a single one of them has ever moved a so much as millimeter since they were built and no one ever seems to have any issues.

We also have a proper permanent tack room and stable block with a sizeable concrete parking area. It has proper foundations, bricks upto waist height and a wooden structure with a tin roof on the top half. There is also electricity and water plumbed in. Apart from the poorly insulated roof and upper section a person could comfortably live there. Legally the property is classed as equestrian land and as such it would be illegal to live there permanently but we are still allowed to spend upto 28 nights per year there if ever we want to sleep over. This is a property that one day we might consider converting into a permanent bungalow. Maybe for retirement in a few years time.

Getting planning for a permanent residence in our area can be rather tricky though. We live several miles away but during in the twenty years that we have kept horses in the area we have managed to integrate into the local community here well. We regularly go to village fates etc. My girlfriend goes to see the horses for several hours every day and we know many of the local land owners and farmers well (one of which delivers hay or trims hedges and he regularly stays to chat with my girlfriend for an hour or two). We are also friends with a farmers wife who has rented a small plot of land to us for nearly twenty years. We always send them cards, give their children presents at Christmas and when we occasionally bump into them usually stop to have a chat. We are also friendly with two of the people who sit on the local parish council, one of which owes us a favor for when we helped them with a troublesome tenant a few years ago. We are also are on good terms with our immediate next door neighbors, one of which by pure coincidence works in the planning office of our local council. This neighbor has a key to our main gate and regularly uses our parking area for things like parking vehicles, storing a boat or having a skip there when he was having some building work done on his house.

The point I'm making here is that the human aspect can also be important regarding planning. Due to our ‘networking’ with local people here over the past 20 years if ever we decide to apply for planning permission to convert the stable block into a proper brick and slate roof residential property (while keeping it within the footprint and silhouette of the current structure) we would likely be given planning permission without any major issues. However if a new unknown stranger to the community tried to do this they would probably struggle to get planning.

PS. Below are two examples of mobile wooden tack rooms and stable structures which sit on a metal frame with skids so that they do not require planning. The metal frames are also helpful because they keep the wood a couple of inches off the damp ground so it takes longer before it starts rotting.

 

[HorseGuy]

Also many years ago I worked with a guy whose friend owned a piece of woodland which was off the beaten track and inaccessible for the public. Together with the help of some friends he built a small wooden house there without planning permission and lived in it for many years without any problems. It was in an area which as not visible from any public areas and it also had good tree cover from above. Very nice it looked in the photos too. Small and cozy but very smart inside. The kitchen and living area looked even nicer than my house. For electricity he ran an extension cable from a nearby building a couple of hundred yards away with permission from the owner there. This example just goes to show that the human aspect can sometimes be important and make all the difference if you are friends with your local neighbors in an area when living off grid.

 

[Toddy]

I think that that is a very very valid point, especially in our island.
We don't have vast no-go areas, we have a fairly decent road network, folks pretty much get everywhere.
If you have to, or choose to, live 'off grid' take heed of the neighbours. Be a good neighbour. I firmly believe that most would do you a good turn before a bad one, but the phrase about good fences making good neighbours is valid too. Good neighbours don't need to share a party wall. The society around you matters too.

 

[HorseGuy]

I think it’s useful to speak to neighbors about your ideas before applying for planning too. For example we already know before hand that our neighbors would be happy for us to live there permanently (my girlfriend practically lives there during the day time already). We also know what size and style of building they would be happy with and what they would object to (for example a small bungalow would be fine but a two story house would spoil the view for one of the neighbors).

Also after speaking with the neighbor opposite who works in the council planning office we know what is likely to help us earn a few ‘brownie points’ with the planners. They really love all that energy efficient and eco stuff. Anything which preserves or even helps the local wildlife to thrive is good too (we do all that already and can show them examples of wildlife friendly features we have there). Using a few well chosen eco and nature friendly buzzwords when selling planners the idea can apparently work wonders.

 

[slowworm]

It's worth having a look at your local planning department planning application maps to see if anyone has put in planning for something similar. You can then read through all the stuff submitted, what people have complained about and what the planning decision reasoning is.

That way you can get an idea of your own councils take. I've found that each council and even each officer can have a different view of things. It's certainly worth being a considerate neighbour but there are quite a few people who seem to be profesional complainers.

 

[Broch]

Any idea if there is a minimum acreage for woodland for it to require management?
This maybe one of those things that change between councils.

Apologies TD, I missed this - but no, I'm not aware of a size limit. One would suspect that the larger the area being worked the better the argument.

This book may be useful - but I've not used it so no idea of the quality of information presented:

Amazon.co.uk