Anyone built stabling without planning permission?

Round here they'll make you take it down or apply for retrospective planning.

I built mine on wooden skids. They clearly aren't going anywhere but this was deemed acceptable. My neighbour has two stables and a large double height barn, again on skids which was inspected and deemed ok.
 
meleeka said:
Round here they'll make you take it down or apply for retrospective planning.

I built mine on wooden skids. They clearly aren't going anywhere but this was deemed acceptable. My neighbour has two stables and a large double height barn, again on skids which was inspected and deemed ok.
Click to expand...

Any chance you could send me pictures of both so I can get an idea of what might work without the permission?
 
Why not just apply for permission? If you don't think it would be approved then there is probably a reason for that.
 
meleeka said:
Round here they'll make you take it down or apply for retrospective planning.

I built mine on wooden skids. They clearly aren't going anywhere but this was deemed acceptable. My neighbour has two stables and a large double height barn, again on skids which was inspected and deemed ok.
Click to expand...

My sister tried it, she's in Hants and as you say council made her pull them down.
 
In Scotland the laws are somewhat easier than in England-depending on whether they fall within the curtilage of your home, number of stables etc. If you are having them built, the supplier should be able to advise you.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
In Scotland the laws are somewhat easier than in England-depending on whether they fall within the curtilage of your home, number of stables etc. If you are having them built, the supplier should be able to advise you.
Click to expand...

We were planning on doing as much of the work ourselves, it is being built in the garden but council are saying that doesn't matter
 
Aren't you allowed within the curtilage of a house to build without PP? It's a very complex area, you might need to check with an expert
 
JillA said:
Aren't you allowed within the curtilage of a house to build without PP? It's a very complex area, you might need to check with an expert
Click to expand...

That is what I thought but for some reason they don't seem to agree :( unsure where I would get advise on what actually qualifies as the curtilage
 
LR2904 said:
That is what I thought but for some reason they don't seem to agree :( unsure where I would get advise on what actually qualifies as the curtilage
Click to expand...

Decent equine planning consultant? Google it but restrict to Scotland, lots of Scottish law is different to English
 
Last edited:
I'm sure part of it is also if it is a permanent building or not. Ours are built on skids and dont have a concrete floor - they went straight onto dry turf. Hence they are movable and do not require planning permission.
 
The council we have is strict with this sort of thing and after a long drawn out and bitter dispute, made my neighbour take down her field shelter. It was the hardcore they objected to, the shelter was on skids. Since then they have made everything she does especially difficult so I don't think its worth getting them offside. I would ask them for advice and work with them otherwise you might find yourself wasting a lot of time and money.
 
Wanting to build stables without planning permission & trying to think of ways to do it so you won't need it is a dangerous way to go. It may well cost you to go to planning but just to build & hope isn't the way. The council may not catch you now but if they find out later, possibly a fall out with a neighbour & them getting a call will end up costing you a lot more than obtaining permission. Arrange an appointment to see a planning office & ask for some advice. They will tell you if you stand any chance or not. They will also tell you what is expected on any plans & what to avoid. That meeting should cost you nothing but at least you will know how to approach the planning dept & if you would get the consent.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
Wanting to build stables without planning permission & trying to think of ways to do it so you won't need it is a dangerous way to go. It may well cost you to go to planning but just to build & hope isn't the way. The council may not catch you now but if they find out later, possibly a fall out with a neighbour & them getting a call will end up costing you a lot more than obtaining permission. Arrange an appointment to see a planning office & ask for some advice. They will tell you if you stand any chance or not. They will also tell you what is expected on any plans & what to avoid. That meeting should cost you nothing but at least you will know how to approach the planning dept & if you would get the consent.
Click to expand...

Agree with this completely.

I built a school and replaced 2 stables with 4 without permission. I did apply for permission but the council had changed there planning computer system and had a 4 month backlog. Anyway I went ahead without permission. Bad mistake. Permission refused had to go to appeal, cost me a lot of money and stress and threat of having to take school out and put ground back to original state.

I am an idiot. Don't be an idiot like me!
 
millikins said:
My sister tried it, she's in Hants and as you say council made her pull them down.
Click to expand...

I'm in Hants too. When I chose mine I emailed a photo to the planning officer (I already had one allocated to me as I'd been made to move my containers) and asked him. I believe that 'my' council are one of the more lenient ones. He was happy that as long as it was on skids it was portable. Some councils insist that its actually moved or don't allow doors at all, just shelters. I also had planings as a base, but as they were there years ago he couldn't object to that.

I haven't heard a thing since, so could probably concrete the base if I wanted to and I doubt it would be noticed.
 
as far as I am aware they cannot stop you building stables in your garden but they can stipulate the building materials eg you may want wood and they will say brick. I have a freind who lives in a national park and was refused permission for stables and a menage. she took it too appeal and a guy came out and said they could have stables and an indoor if they liked! it was the national park people being difficult. she built her stables nad menage.
 
We had ours built alongside a barn facing out towards open fields (ours). When we tried to sell, we were advised we needed retrospective pp, which we got in about six weeks. No issues at all. In Scotland that is.
 
What seems to work around this area, is join the Parish Council become a Councillor either just before you apply for planning or just after, when you get planning resign from Parish Council due to work commitments, health or lack of time to give it your all and then crack on building what you asked for. I'm amazed how often this happens....... when I was speaking to a farrier who is out of my area about planning he also said straight away people join the Parish Council as it works in his area too ........... shock, horror :)
 
My dad built a couple of open fronted sheds, with gates on the fronts. They were made of telegraph poles, clad with profile sheets, no base, just earth. He did get a visit from the council and they said they were okay.
We later did concrete the bases, no one will ever know �� amd the property has now been sold and the whole lot is being demolished
I believe this now makes them a permanent structure, rather than a pole barn

I also thought you can build a structure in your garden, under 4 m high, not covering more than 50% of your garden sort of thing
 
Cecile said:
What seems to work around this area, is join the Parish Council become a Councillor either just before you apply for planning or just after, when you get planning resign from Parish Council due to work commitments, health or lack of time to give it your all and then crack on building what you asked for. I'm amazed how often this happens....... when I was speaking to a farrier who is out of my area about planning he also said straight away people join the Parish Council as it works in his area too ........... shock, horror :)
Click to expand...

true around here too.
 
Firstly, this business of buildings "within the curtilage" - it applies to things like sheds and gazebos in your garden for the "enhancement and enjoyments thereof" - it's not a range of stables.

Most councils planning departments are full of jumped up little hitlers with even greater ambitions - they all have an abiding hatred of all things Horsey! Building a stable without following every bylaw is rather like hoisting a Conservative banner at the bottom of Jeremy Corbin's garden.

So steer a tacking course by making sure your stable conforms to the "portable" description i.e. not fixed to the ground and nothing done to the natural earth of the area - or apply for proper permission. Have a word with the pettifogging.... oops, sorry, the nice man at the council first to gage opinion, then you can draw up the plans yourself and run off some copies - a full planning application shouldn't cost more than £200 for a timber construction but the more you make it look like a bungalow or a granny flat, the more problems you'll have.
 
OldFogie said:
Firstly, this business of buildings "within the curtilage" - it applies to things like sheds and gazebos in your garden for the "enhancement and enjoyments thereof" - it's not a range of stables.
Click to expand...

And you know that how? It hasn't been all that many decades since horses were a part of many households, especially rural ones, and we all know how old many of our laws are. Ask an expert, that is unless OF is genuinely in possession of the true facts?
 
Firstly, this business of buildings "within the curtilage" - it applies to things like sheds and gazebos in your garden for the "enhancement and enjoyments thereof" - it's not a range of stables.
Click to expand...

Yes it is.

In Cheshire, a friend of mine was told that she did not need planning consent to erect two stables and put a full size arena in 75% of her garden. She did that with no issues.
 
Last edited:
Questions about planning permission seem to come up fairly frequently on this forum and elsewhere; maybe it's time for a FAQ and a sticky...

The government has a series of pages about planning permission in England and Wales starting here.
 
ycbm said:
Yes it is.

In Cheshire, a friend of mine was told that she did not need planning consent to erect two stables and put a full size arena in 75% of her garden. She did that with no issues.
Click to expand...

ditto, lincs friend has put a lovely 4 stable with covered yard (sort of very mini american barn) in her garden a year or so ago, no planning required.

Keith the trouble with stickies has always been that we are only allowed a certain number, so in order to have a new one we have to sack one off and planning does seem to depend on your local office quite a lot of the time!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top