INFO NEEDED PLEASE: Agricultural land/accommodation land for horses!

[GREYSMEADOW]

Can someone please give me some advice please.

Recently a couple have brought a house with agricultural land and are currently building a new house since demolishing the old one. Next year they want to knock down the existing grotty weird shaped stables and put a new stable block up possibly sited in a different place.

The land is classed as agricultural and they want to let out the land and stables for horses but the keeping/grazing of horses is classed as equestrian use. Can someone please advise if they have to apply for a change of use from agricultural to accommodation land to graze/keep horses on. Or perhaps if it would be ok to include sheep, chickens etc plus horses on agricultural land which they want to rent out. Do they have to put in a planning application? Would they need to register the property as a ‘farm’? Any suggestions/advice would be most helpful. PS they are not horsey.

 

[Bosworth]

They need to apply for change of use - horses are not agricultural so the change of use is to leisure land. Only working horses (ploughing etc) can be kept on agricultural land. However if the land is primarily used for sheep, or cattle with the occasional horse kep in teh same field then no change of use is required. However if they have applied for permission to put up new stables, they may find they have been granted leisure use already so they need to look at their planning permission for the property and the previous uses. If it has been used to keep horses only for the past 4 years then the 4 year rule applies and no change of use request is needed. Continued use of agricultural for a purpose of 4 years or more constitutes an implied consent from the planners.

 

[Jules123]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that you can graze retired horses on agricultural land, or horses that are not ridden or used for recreational purposes.

 

[pottamus]

First off...they will need planning to take the existing stables down and re-build - even if they are to be sited on the same footprint...they will need a change of use to accomodate the horses and will also need some sort of planning agreed for the 'renting out' of the stables as this is classed as business use...regardless of who is paying to use the stables.
The change of use to equestrian is compulsory where ridden horses are concerned or horses that need supplementary feeding over and above just the grass on the land.

 

[OWLIE185]

As far as Planning Law is concerned there are several different types of horses:
Horses breed and destined for meat.
Horses used only for breeding (Mares and Stallions).
Horses worked on agricultural land and not used for leisure activities.
Horses not given additional feed apart from the grass they are grazing.
Horses used for leisure activities.

It is only horses that are used for leisure activities that would require Planning Permission for change of use from agricultural to equetrian use.

If they intend renting the stables out then they must apply for commercial use which will alert the rating authorities and they will be then have to pay rates on each of the stables. This can be as much as £12 per week depending on the rateable value that the local authority place on them.

Demolishing and erecting a stable block requires planning permission.

 

[AmyMay]

They need to speak to their local Planners - because it will vary on what they can and can't do dependent on what part of the country they are in and how flexible their planners are.