PucciNPoni
Well-Known Member
I have a friend in Wales who has her own wee yard just for her own four horses. It's like 6 or 7 acres and it's always had horses on it for like 40 years. Anyhow, 30 years ago they built an arena, and from what I understand, at that time planning permission was not required for the arena. It was never a concern to anyone for decades. They recently brought in some temporary stables (ie not concreted in and can be moved). They are more that field shelters but definitely movable. Recently they added a hardcore hardstanding.
Recently my friend has been contacted by the council to say that a query re the arena (but not the shelters) and the hardstanding have come in to question as to whether they had planning permission for them. HUH?
So now she's got to prove that the arena has been there for all this time etc. There is a questionaire of something like 20 (rather funny) questions about stuff like
"the made and model of animals on the propery"
"what do you do with the animals on the property"
"what do you use the arena for"
"what are the contents of the sheds"
So my friend is currently burying them with 16 generation pedigrees of each of her horses, photos from thirty years ago of every horse she's every had there, photos of the fields being used, being topped, the school being harrowed, the history of every horse she's ever had there, their show records with dates and photos of rosettes (chuckle). She's going to say that in the arena she sometimes does shoulder in, but sometimes is more like levade, and that's why she needs an arena....with photos....and contents of the shed will be 57 pages of itemised inventory down to the last hoofpick, brush, shovel, bucket and piece of baling twine.
Apparently there was also a complaint over the use of WHITE electrical tape for dividing one of her very large paddocks. Again, EH??? So now she's thinking that she should put in split rail and paint it with hi-vis reflective hot pink paint. But she was thinking that before she does this she might invite the local hunt to ride thru her paddocks one weekend....
She thinks that the planning person who's querying this suspects that she's opening a riding school as she on occasion has friends come on their horses in their lorries to use her school, free of charge. This has happened twice in the past 6 months. Another friend came on a different occasion, stayed at her house and brought their two horses and used the stables for a week.
Has anyone else experieced something like this? How did you handle it? And any other naughty ideas (for burying the planning peeps in paperwork)???
hot coco if you got this far!
Recently my friend has been contacted by the council to say that a query re the arena (but not the shelters) and the hardstanding have come in to question as to whether they had planning permission for them. HUH?
So now she's got to prove that the arena has been there for all this time etc. There is a questionaire of something like 20 (rather funny) questions about stuff like
"the made and model of animals on the propery"
"what do you do with the animals on the property"
"what do you use the arena for"
"what are the contents of the sheds"
So my friend is currently burying them with 16 generation pedigrees of each of her horses, photos from thirty years ago of every horse she's every had there, photos of the fields being used, being topped, the school being harrowed, the history of every horse she's ever had there, their show records with dates and photos of rosettes (chuckle). She's going to say that in the arena she sometimes does shoulder in, but sometimes is more like levade, and that's why she needs an arena....with photos....and contents of the shed will be 57 pages of itemised inventory down to the last hoofpick, brush, shovel, bucket and piece of baling twine.
Apparently there was also a complaint over the use of WHITE electrical tape for dividing one of her very large paddocks. Again, EH??? So now she's thinking that she should put in split rail and paint it with hi-vis reflective hot pink paint. But she was thinking that before she does this she might invite the local hunt to ride thru her paddocks one weekend....
She thinks that the planning person who's querying this suspects that she's opening a riding school as she on occasion has friends come on their horses in their lorries to use her school, free of charge. This has happened twice in the past 6 months. Another friend came on a different occasion, stayed at her house and brought their two horses and used the stables for a week.
Has anyone else experieced something like this? How did you handle it? And any other naughty ideas (for burying the planning peeps in paperwork)???
hot coco if you got this far!