Problems with getting 'Equestriian Use'

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Hawthornes

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Hello, I have bought a small field with a view to retiring my old pony (and companion) there. Upon discussion with the local council, I had applied for change of use to Equestrian, along with pp for a couple of stables and an adjoining feed store. The field currently has no usable access and I also applied for a new access. There have now been numerous objections, mainly along the lines of cowslips being in the field being destroyed by horses, but also pollution of the water course by horse poo etc. It seems quite a concerted effort to prevent the field being used by horses. I had hoped that planning would be granted, as was assured that none of the objections had anything to do with planning! However this was not granted and the whole application has now gone to committee. I am keen to use the field, as the pony is presently costing a fortune at livery, which, along with the repayment on the field, is getting to be too expensive. I am tempted to put the ponies in the field anyway and, if told to move them by the council, citing all the other fields in the area, and asking the council to confirm that these all have permission for Equestrian use! I would appreciate any advice and comments... the field was not cheap and I am worried that I may never be able to put horses on it. Thank you
 
There are lots of solicitors specializing in change of agricultural use. It might be worth contacting one of those for help. You could put the ponies in there anyway - I know a lot of people who have done it. But it might be better to wait until after committee. If you wind them (and those objecting) up by breaking planning laws then you won't do your case any favours. Planning enforcement action is usually slow so if you did put the horses in there you would probably have 3 - 6 months before enforcement action was taken. You'd need to check your local council for the range of fines which apply. Some are higher than others! You might also want to check if there is any nature based lein on the land because breaching that can result in a hefty fine quite a lot quicker - although that should have shown up on your property search before purchase I would have thought.
 
Perhaps you could let it be known that as you have been unsuccessful in gaining planning you have no further use for the field and have been approached by a certain section of the community to buy it to put their caravans on.

I suspect it's your plans to put buildings on the field that have caused the problem - that's certainly the case where one of my fields is. No-one gives a monkeys about my grazing horses on Grade 1 arable land but I was made aware that should I try to put in any form of planning for horseyculture then objections would be made and it would be pointed out that I was grazing horses not sheep.

You could attempt to get ten sheep in, five for each horse as then your horsey use is incidental to the sheep.

I suggest that you check with a supplier of mobile field shelters with fronts and on skids and see if you can get them in without upsetting the planners.
 
I'd change the planning to just the change of use for now and get them to accept horses on it - perhaps when you go to committee if you beg and grovel and conceed all buildings then they might meet you half way.
You can then pop a mobile field shelter on it - they don't need planning and work perfectly as two stables

These people can have far more power than common sense would suggest so you need to keep/ get them on side even when they are being mental!!
 
Thanks for the replies so far. The field is quite sloping, so selling as a travellers site isn't an option - although at the moment I'm tempted to wish it was! The field has been little used for some years. Nothing came up on any searches. I think the new entrance is what started everyone off, although we have been told by the council that we don't actually NEED planning permission for this, as it is off an unclassified road, as long as we apply for 'agricultural access' - if necessary I will obtain a number of bullocks and put them in the field, obviously they will leave the cowslips alone ;) I like cowslips as much as the next person, but they may be possibly the most expensive cowslips in the world if I am unable to put ponies in the field...
 
Read your local councils planning guidelines, as far as I am aware you will have agricultural use which means you can put horses in field but not ride in there or put anything up. Also be careful as sometimes feeding hay in field s frowned upon as agricultural use by definition means you are using the field as grazing. If it was me I would get them in there asap before grass grows too much and also it will get people used to seeing the field with horses in it.

Ps I bought a field, contacted local planning office and was told I couldn't put any stables up etc, I ignored them (having read their planning guidelines) and put in fencing, hard standing and a double stable/field shelter - I got reported and it got passed without a quibble !
 
Can you research the danger times for cowslips and horses and put in a plan to fence to keep the horses off the cowslip site, or the major part of it, at the sensitive times of the year?
 
Just to say as well, our fields are off a footpath/private drove and we were told by someone fairly knowledgeable that to make an additional access we wouldn't need planning, we have reans so its simply a case of putting huge pipe in ditch and backfilling with stone to make a culvert!

Local field to me is an area of outstanding natural beauty, I know they can't use chemicals on it but they have horse on it
 
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OP, has it actually been refused? What actual reasons have they given?

You are right though, objections by the public have little to no effect on the decisions by councils!
 
Planning committees often have a problem with developments they think may be taken further at a later stage... so as someone stated previously. ~Try just applying for change of use first.
 
TT55 it was all set to be approved (we had inside information) as none of the objections related to planning at all, but at the last minute, a stand in councilor put in an objection so it has to go to committee. Jemima, the field isn't very big, but we wouldn't have a problem with electric fencing off the cowslips - I just have a problem with the villagers assuming that we would be carrying out a big equestrian operation from the site - other objections have been to security lighting (there is no electricity!!) Horseboxes kept on site (we have a trailer, kept at home) and Plastic (?) one objector said that the field is sloping so unsuitable for horses, and there are much more suitable fields in the area - possibly, but we didn't buy those! sorry, in a bit of a rant mode.. The previous owner of the field wrote in support of our planning application, and said 'if the objectors were so concerned about the cowslips, then they should have clubbed together and bought the field' :(
 
I know how you feel - I felt awful as well as very cross when I was told we were being watched to make sure that we did nothing that could be construed as trying to get planning for anything that might be converted to a house on the field. Anything related to horses, such as stables, was being carefully looked for.

I guess all you can do is calmly rebutt all the worries that people have had and hope (expect!) that the committee will be fine with what you are proposing.
 
Presumably the land is currently classed as for agricultural use, as someone else said this means you CAN legally graze horses on it but technically shouldn't feed, ride put jumps up etc. Of course if challenged about feeding them your best line of defence would be to cite its a welfare issue to deny the animals sufficient food or supplements/medicines they might need. Councils tend to back off in those situations because it puts them in a compromising position. If they don't pass your planning for stables your best bet would be to go down the mobile field shelter route. There is information available on the internet about previous cases that have set a legal precedence which you can refer them to if they try and enforce on you. Things are more difficult if your field is located in an AONB though
Good luck!
 
There is a difference between using land for "the grazing of horses" and "the keeping of horses". I think if you can look these up or get a professional to look into it for you, you will have the best chance of getting the planning permission you need.
 
We have recently gained planning permission for stables and a manège on our fields. We found the help of a planning consultant who specialises in this area invaluable. Please pm me if you would like any specific info and I'll be pleased to help
 
Sorry got disturbed before I finished then! If the land has agricultural use and is only to be used for the purposes of the horses grazing the land and they require no supplementary feed, and only that, then you don't require any further planning permission. However anything more than that and you will require change of use.
 
I would go out and get a couple of sheep, and put them in with your pony for company, all you need is a CPH. If you really want to wined them up put some pigs on it, in a couple of weeks they will plough the whole lot up and then there will be no cowslips for them to worry about.
I would just ignore the neighbours, there is not really a lot they can do. If you already have a trailer, I would use that as a temporary stable, that would be truly mobile. I think you can not afford to pander to the objectors, just do what you want but tweak it to conform with the regulations.
 
Hawthornes said:
TT55 it was all set to be approved (we had inside information) as none of the objections related to planning at all, but at the last minute, a stand in councilor put in an objection so it has to go to committee.
Click to expand...

So it hasn't been rejected yet, so don't lose hope yet! Just because it is going to committee does not mean it will be refused.

I don't know where in the country you are, but here the councillors are all horse friendly and a horse and a stable or two isn't usually a problem. Plenty of agricultural land has been turned into Equestrian land. But then again each case is different, but as I said before, Mr 'Joe Bloggs' with his "not in my back yard" attitude has no influence on the outcome of planning applications (as sad as this is sometimes, it's true)!
 
I have applied for change of use from agricultural to equestrian several times and have eventually got it despite various objections.
Putting in an access is normally referred to the highways department.
Unless your field has a rare plants of animal habitat then you should not have any problem with objections relating to rare fauna or wildlife.
 
When the planning dept here was being negative about me having stables I pointed out that I could build some nice, neat wooden stables and plant trees around them or, if I didn't get planning I could buy five old lorries and park them in the field to keep my horses in - which wouldn't need permission and would look as ugly as heck. They did see sense and come to some compromise at that point.

I echo the sentiments that you could do with contacting a specialist in equine plans.

While I see your frustration, listing all your neighbouring equestrian fields and demanding that they all be checked out for the correct usage of land would be a bit nasty!
 
Just a tip, if the planning application has gone over the permitted time to be decided, then you may find, as we did, it has lost all sense of priority (as it is now over the government targets so when it gets considered is not relevant for their targets). If so, wack in an appeal immediately. Otherwise you may find, as we did, that it takes nearly a YEAR for the planning committee to make a decision. By which time I'd had to make alternative arrangements.
 
Not changed ours, taking a hay crop. Horses grazing are mowing machines. Mobile stables if you need. Tell local council you would like a planning officer out, building plot I think..... Couple of houses.... Horses could be the least of their probs
 
You need to get specialist advice .
My understanding is you can graze it with no change of use .
As long as you don't put feed it in.
 
My planning office says that grazing horses in a field is agricultural but if yo feed them in the field that needs planning consent. You can use the field for any use 14 days a year if you put up jumps then they have to be moved after use.
 
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