Building Stables

[Lionrose]

Hi! Looking for peoples experiences. I have bought my dream home to have my horses at home. Aside from. 2.5 acre field there are no horse facilities. Trying to find builders, navigate planning permission issues and the pending winter mud and weather, its all become a nightmare. Options are put horses in stables nearby short term until worst of the winter is over ( we are high up and weather horrific. Have researched field shelters but reality is that means I cant ride them as ground so bad I cant keep shoes on/ride barefoot) and in meantime try to build stables. My question is.. Have a large area out the back which is currently paved and has a small garden. A builder can errect a steel shed I can fit out with 2 stables. This would be very close to back of the house. I understand from architect that came out that I wont need planning permission (he has looked at planning permission for my property when it was built. ) other option is build in field but will need a full planning application which I have been told will be complex and not guaranteed to be granted.

Has anyone been in a similar position? Worried I may devalue the house by building stables out the back. Also worried I will go through planning if I build in field and it will be refused/challenged etc.

Any help/advice greatly appreciated. Have ruled out timber stables too.

 

[Landcruiser]

I think you WILL need planning permission for stables in the back garden. You say the architect has looked at the planning permission for your house - that should then be available to you (https://www.gov.uk/browse/housing-local-services/planning-permission-regulations-information). It's up to you to be sure - the architect has a vested interest in getting work for himself regardless. (We were told we wouldn't need it for an oak porch, but on researching it we DID, because of the height). You need to involve a local planning consultant, who deals with equestrian/agricultural plans. They cost a fair bit but can save you from really costly mistakes and also help to produce the plans most likely to be accepted. In your position I wouldn't risk it without one.

I would think that your priority should be a hardstanding area which can be gated off from the main field, and this is where you need a shelter/stables. But the hardstanding is the key, without it you are stuffed unless you are on really well drained ground. (And you'll need planning for it).

I have 4 on 3 acres of deep clay. In winter they live on a 20x20 turnout and adjoining stable yard with open stables. I've recently added a 20x40 arena off the turnout, so can have the whole lot open. We bought the place with the turnout and stable yard existing, although very derelict and overgrown - it took a lot of clearing, earth shifting, fencing and rebuilding/re roofing to get to where we are now (and it ain't smart - but it does the job).

Whatever you do, try to make it as versatile as you can - use gates to separate areas, try to incorporate stables/enclosed yards/shelter. It's SO USEFUL to be able to contain horses in different areas, or separate them, while allowing them room to move around and make choices.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

My friend had a similar situation she bought a big mobile shelter and put it on the hard standing split it and used that as stables it actually worked really well.

 

[meleeka]

Every council has different rules, so I’d just ask them. My council said it was ok to have mobile stables, on skids, so that’s what I did. They didn’t say they had to be moved, just that they were moveable, which they are. An officer from the same council 10 years before said that it had to be a shelter on skids and not stables, so even in the same council things can be different.

If you want to avoid planning altogether, you could put a shelter on skids and lay mud control mats in/around them.

 

[Nudibranch]

Our stables were built within the curtilage so no pp was needed. That was before we bought the house but still. Just check with the council. It's an enclosed yard with stables, so not part of the garden but within the garden if that makes sense. The corner comes pretty close to the back door, maybe 20ft or so.
Can't see how it would devalue a property if there's land attached. "Equestrian" properties are usually at a premium. And at worst, someone buys it who doesn't have horses; they have some outbuildings. Unless it's done badly and on the cheap I can't see an issue with value.

 

[lauragreen85]

every council is different, some times it helps if you get a farm number and NEED shelter for your horses

 

[Nudibranch]

every council is different, some times it helps if you get a farm number and NEED shelter for your horses

How would a CPH help? I have one but I keep sheep, goats, etc. Agricultural is treated very differently to equestrian, hence why it's easier to get planning but they do not include horses within agriculture.