Change of use to Equestrian and Planning Issues, Advice Needed

[Calico1]

I've recently bought 10 acres of Agricultural land with good roadside access and am hoping to get planning permission for an arena and some stables. Had preplanning advice which was quite positive but the architect I used for it wasn't very good and I don't think he understood all the work that would be needed i.e pasture management plans for example.
Do I need a specialist equine architect who can deal with all the statements and plans for stables etc?
I've noticed that builders of stables and arenas offer plans for their products so I'm a bit confused as to which way I should start.
Any advice, experiences welcome and thanks in advance.

 

[CMcC]

I would use a planning consultant experienced in equestrian property planning. I was refused planning permission for a sand school. I had used someone to do the original application but was very impressed by them and didn't trust them to put up much of a fight for the appeal so used a consultant for the appeal who was brilliant.

 

[Tiddlypom]

These people are good. They are specialists in equestrian planning. They've seen it all, and have lots of experience.

http://www.equestriandesign.co.uk/mobile

 

[Calico1]

I would use a planning consultant experienced in equestrian property planning. I was refused planning permission for a sand school. I had used someone to do the original application but was very impressed by them and didn't trust them to put up much of a fight for the appeal so used a consultant for the appeal who was brilliant.

Thanks, I think this may be the best option. I'll have a look around for any in our area.

 

[Calico1]

These people are good. They are specialists in equestrian planning. They've seen it all, and have lots of experience.

http://www.equestriandesign.co.uk/mobile

Thanks for this, I'll give them a ring for a chat on Monday.

 

[Jericho]

We changed our 7 acres attached to the house from agricultural to equestrian without any issue whatsoever and then put a manege in which I drew the plans up myself. I got the impression that changing from agricultural to equestrian use was relatively straightforward and looked upon favourably but we did have stables with electricity / water already there and we weren't allowed to put lights on our manege. It could be expensive using a dedicated service so I would have another meeting with your local planners department as every case will be different.

 

[Calico1]

We changed our 7 acres attached to the house from agricultural to equestrian without any issue whatsoever and then put a manege in which I drew the plans up myself. I got the impression that changing from agricultural to equestrian use was relatively straightforward and looked upon favourably but we did have stables with electricity / water already there and we weren't allowed to put lights on our manege. It could be expensive using a dedicated service so I would have another meeting with your local planners department as every case will be different.

Hi, thanks for the reply, I'd love to keep the costs down but scared of throwing good money after bad so to speak. First architect has been a total waste of of money.
I'm guessing but think it may be easier to get change of use if the land belongs to an existing house but more work to change stand alone agricultural land as they're asking for quite a lot of stuff.

 

[honetpot]

I would have a look on your planning portal, on your local council website. Check applications nearby, what they were and who did them and that may give you some local leads,

 

[meesha]

I bought agricultural land (stand alone no house) and put up stables then applied for change of use to equestrian and put in planning for the stables. I did it myself, pencil plans to scale etc, my application form was not at all professional but they passed it without quibble (after telling me when I bought the lznd I couldn't put stables up)!!!!.

Go on your councils website, look at similar planning applications and steal the bits you need from them!!

 

[case895]

I used a specialist and he overwhelmed the council with justifications for what I needed, why it had to be like that, etc. Went through in the shortest time.

 

[Calico1]

I would have a look on your planning portal, on your local council website. Check applications nearby, what they were and who did them and that may give you some local leads,

That's a really good idea, I've now got the name of a local architect who has had a similar project approved recently. Thank you.

 

[Calico1]

That's good, I'm not sure our council know much about equestrian use, I've now sourced a couple of specialist architects that I will ring on Monday. Thanks.

 

[PeterNatt]

I have had a lot of experience of this as I have obtained planning permission from 75 acres of agricultural land to equestrian use which also included a cross country course and in my case the district boundary went straight through the fields so I had to apply to both district councils for planning permission.
I used a surveyor rather than an architect and we did suceed in getting the planning permission that we required.
In addition to this we put drainage in the fields, a water supply, put the fields down to grass and fenced the fields.
It can be done but you are best getting the assistance of experienced professionals to assist you.

 

[whiteflower]

Definitely get someone experienced to deal with it for you. I think it depends very much on where you are located as to how easy it will be, I know of several people who have changed know problem but also some that have had issues including ourselves. I think it can be more of an issue in or near national parks, in areas that are aonb, green belt etc. If you have already had pre planning advice and they have said it should be ok then you must be pretty sure you will be ok. I find planners seem to be a law unto themselves and sometimes take issue with things that you wouldn't think would be and vice versa, feels like a bit of a lottery. Good luck !

 

[Calico1]

Thanks for the replies and I really appreciate hearing about your experiences. I'm not really confident enough to do it myself so I will be ringing a couple of specialists in this area next week. I think it will be worth the expense if it increases the chances of a successful planniing application.

 

[sywell]

As you know using agricultural to graze horses is ok but if you feed them in the field they become kept and you require planning permission. You can put jumps up but must take them down after use. The whole area is a nightmare and depends on you local planning officer if when you talk to them and they seem anti horse you can ask you local borough councillor to call it in and the planning committee will deal with the application but it has to be done in most cases within 21 days. If you think you have a strong case you can appeal and if it is written by you it will cost you nothing. I spoke to each individual of my borough councillors as planning is a political thing just as much as a legal process. If the council gets the process wrong and they do not validate the application or take more than two months without asking you for more time when you write to complain to the borough solicitor they will not reply if you have a case for compensation from ombudsman but if you do get an award you might have to sue them to get the money. You should see my planning file where the planning officer's letter to the borough solicitor is on file but he would not reply to my letters. Just treat it as if you were dealing with any commercial organisation.

 

[whiteflower]

Sounds like you have had a nightmare seywell. Seems I'm not the only one who has found this isn't always as easy as it seems. Someone locally to us put in. Similar change of use application to us so we have been keeping an eye on it. They wanted agricultural to equestrian with couple of stables and arena, outright refused as would spoil the view of the couple of cottages opposite. Has given us even less hope for the rest of our farmland. Really does depend on where you are and your planners but road frontage is not always a good thing if the land can be seen from the road, certainly for my planners anyway !!

 

[Calico1]

Just to update......I instructed a specialist planner experienced in gaining permission for this kind of development. Very pricey but I decided that it would give me the best chance of a successful application. Had to have an Ecological report, field management plan, waste plan etc and they have dealt with everything so no fuss. We've applied for 6 stables in a steel framed American barn style with an overhang at the front for storage of haylage etc, a car park and a 60x20 arena. The plan has now gone in and is at the consultation stage so finger crossed.

Oh and I manged to get a refund from the first planning guy who was absolutely useless!