Agricultural land

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Jola

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Hi. Does anyone else graze their horse on agricultural land and then tried to get the planning changed to equestrian use? If so, was it granted and was there conditions placed on it with lighting etc?
Thinking of buying some for grazing but ultimately would love to put an arena in if I ever got planning (going into it expecting not to be able to so I'm not disappointed!)
 
Jola, not sure where you are but i'm in north shropshire, i brought an 'agricultural' field 9 years ago, i applied for planning for 5 stables with concrete base and during application the planning department said i needed to have change of use to 'horseyculture'. it didnt cost any extra, it was just a box i had to tick and write horseyculture in the appropriate section. i was told that as i would be using the field for more than just grazing, ie going to be riding in it, that i would need to apply for change of use. its still classed as green belt land, but the council needed to have it correctly categorised. planning was approved for the stables and change of use without any problems, within 5 weeks in fact :)

with regards to building a menage. i have built one since originally buying the field. i checked with my local planning department first but i didnt need planning permission. the reason why is that i have 'built' it above ground level, ie apart from reinstating the land drains, which you dont need permission for, all the 'surface' is above ground if that makes sense. the turf and a very small amount of top soil, enough to make it more level than it was already, was removed and used to bank up the sides, i used 12" boarding to hold this back and the surface was put on top of the membrane over the whole area. its 8 years old this year and works amazingly well, never floods and very rarely freezes (i used radnors wood chip surface thats used on racing gallops)

i've had 2-3 planners round since as my neighbours are really nice and keep reporting it but the planning officers still say it doesnt need permission, its classed as a temporary structure and as no excavation was carried out other than the land drains so all is ok. i should add i dont have any lighting either as i have no mains electric so that also helps.

best of luck with your field, it's the best decision i've ever made buying the field, especially as its all paid for now and has also increased significantly in value from when i brought a green field - not that i would ever sell it :)
 
Hi Bennions Field
Thanks for the detailed reply - that is really helpful
I'd never thought about putting a school above ground level - that is such a great idea!
Would you mind me asking how much it roughly cost to do the school this way?
Thanks
 
Hi Jola,

more than happy to help, i wish i'd had some helpful advice when i first purchased.

I had a man who lived locally who put the land drains in, he had a large mini digger (cost £500 max) and i borrowed a tractor and trailer to move the top soil, i learnt to drive it too so cost nothing to borrow :) the membranes cost around £500, had two one to put on top of ground before the stone went in the land drains with the pipes, and the other to keep the surface away from the stone (purchased them both from Radnors). the surface cost £5k i think it was a while ago now, they are still in business, based in bishops castle shropshire, they produce the surface for all the racing yards, its clean new wood chips with no bark in it which means it breaks down slowly, think they say it should last 15 years. to be honest mines as good as new 8 years down the line but then i only use it myself around 3-4 times a week. the boarding around the sides was from a local timber yard, they cut it specially for me, think it cost a few hundred quid.

To fence it in i used wide dark brown electric tap (40mm) with wooden posts, it looks like post and rail from a distance, but my horrible lot have no respect for anything other than electric fence, i just turn it off when i'm riding. if youve got any more questions just ask away, happy to help :)
 
Thats fab thanks very much. I keep hearing people paying £20k and more and that was a bit scary!!
I'm excited now! Just need them to accept my offer :)
 
I'm also in north Shropshire (near Market Drayton, where are you BF?) and my land was agricultural when I bought it but had had the occasional horse grazed on it. I never did ask for change of use - if you do something without planning consent, and it is open and visible and no objections are received for a period of years (I think 4 but not altogether certain on that, you need to check) you no longer need permission, and mine has been used for horses for 15 years now. When I applied for my manege they didn't ask about change of use, nor when I applied for a barn for indoor stabling, so I guess it is safe to assume the planners are aware without actually being told. And North Shropshire did at one time have a reputation as the worst planning authority in the country.
 
Hi Jill, i'm in whitchurch, just off the nantwich road, so very local :) i used to live in drayton before i brought my field :)

unfortunately i have two parish councilors who live in the very small hamlet so dont get away with anything :( I was asked to get change of use from the planning officer when i applied for my stables when i first brought the field, it didnt cost anything extra so happily added the details to the forms. the menage i checked before i built it, i just rang the local planning officer and asked if i needed permission. Jola, if you ring up the planning office in your area they will usually be happy to discuss and advise if you need planning. I do think it varies between different areas.

Best of luck with your offer - you will never regret it !
 
Bear in mind that planners elsewhere might not be so generous, even if building manège above ground, on land designated as equestrian, the importation and use of the crushed stone required for the manège base (separate from any used in the drainage channels below) will in many areas be deemed to be works requiring planning consent.
 
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