Purchasing land - help and advice please

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wilkinson1

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Hello, I haven't searched for previous similar posts but I wonder if anyone could help me please?
My husband and I have been left some money and have decided we would like to buy some land (with the long term intention of building a house on it and living there (and keepingthe horses at home)).
Where do we start?!
We have seen a couple of plots of land that we like the look of, one is approx 25 acres and doesnt have any planning permission on it currently but does have concrete stables and steel barns. Our idea would be to buy the land, keep the horses on it and perhaps rent out a few fields for grazing. Apply for planning over the next few years and then build if and when it were accepted.
What taxes, insurances, rates etc would we have to pay for this?
Help!!!
Thanks ever so much for reading and any advice would be greatly appreciated :confused::)
 
It is almost impossible to get PP for a house on agricultural land. The only real exception are if you are a registered farmer, this is your farm and you show a need to be on site for the running of the business. Very, very rarely a planning department may allow a house of exceptional architectural merit, but they literally only allow 1-2 a year in the whole country if at all or if you manage to set up an equestrian business that is making a profit for a few years, apply for a caravan to look after the business and live in it for 10 years after which you may get PP for a house.

This is why plots of land with PP are so much more expensive than those without.

Sorry to be so negative but best to be realistic than to spend money on a plot of land you can never build a house on.
 
Welcomes hun :D

Good luck!

Oh, look on your Council's planning thingy for the building evenvlope for houses - if it's inside that, then you have a chance for PP for a house, if it's outside, then chances are reduced.
 
Is it at the bottom of a hill with traffic lights!!??
How exciting- it would be my absolute dream
 
MrsM, thank you, will have a look at my council's planning details.

Booboo, thanks for being realistic - i need to keep my feet firmly on the ground

Martlin, thanks for your pm and message, will shout if I think of any specific questions!

One question I have though, when Booboo says 'agricultural land' - what would permanent pasture land come under?
Thanks :)
 
wilkinson1 said:
One question I have though, when Booboo says 'agricultural land' - what would permanent pasture land come under?
Thanks :)
Click to expand...

You need to check on your council's planning portal or ask the vendor what use is on the land - permanent pasture is most likely agricultural, but there is a possibility that it has equestrian or mixed use on it, if somebody has applied for it in the past :)
 
permanent pasture is agricultural land. Grazing of horses on land is still classed as 'agricultural' however as soon as the horses are used for 'recreational' use it no longer come under agricultural use. Also using feeding supplements and feeding the horse with hay/produce not produced from the holding will also change the use of the land from agricultural.

In my experience you will not get permission for a property to be built for non agricultural purposes on agricultural land, unless its exceptional circumstances.

If your dream is to have land with a property then im afraid your best bet is to buy land with a property as it is highly unlikley you'll get permission for a house on bare land.
 
Ditto the above on agricultural land.

To build for agricultural purposes you or a member of your immediate family must be a farmer, this must be the land they farm and they must show there is a need to live there but no house to live in. I've seen it done this way: farmer with old farm and outbuildings applies for PP for new agricultural buildings (this is relativelye easy to get if you are a farmer with a business) then converts old outbuildings to cottages (again this is easy for almost anyone to do) and sells them off to people who want to live in the country but don't want land, then ends by selling the farm house but retaining the land new buildings and farm business. He then applies for PP for a new house so he can live on the land and look after his business. I have seen this done 3-4 times.

If you are within the permitted development zone of a village/town you can of course get PP for a house, but the chances that a 25 acre plot could have PP for houses and they are selling it without bothering to obtain the PP are absolutely nil - the sellers would have to be brain damaged!
 
Also, if you haven't already done so and after reading other people's problems on here which seem to be many, make sure there are no footpaths or rights of way across or near your land, you'll have all sorts of problems if there is, Oz :)
 
Yes, this is correctadvice. You need to look on the local council's policies, or speak to a planning officer - but rules and regulations change of course.

Our DC has just given temporary permission for an agricultural worker's caravan for threeyears to some people who bought 15-20 acres of land from which they intend to make a living. When they apply for renewal they will have to show their accounts to see if they can live off the smallholding.

My nephew is currently building a new farmhouse, but the family have owned theland for over 20 years, he is a genuine farmer.

Your dream is one that lots of people have, but it is very difficult. Just building stables, etc. is not an excuse to have a house as well as planners say that you should think about security, etc. before you put the stables there. Building in open countryside, unless it is something like a barn, is very tricky.

But you could gamble that rules will change.
 
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