... buy a field? (New thread on an old topic)

[lindsay]

Hello Ishers

We cannot afford to buy a house in the country with a big garden, so have hatched Plan B, which is to buy a field not too far away and basically use that as the garden we don't have. We plan to grow vegetables, maybe keep bees, put up a slide and a climbing frame for our daughter etc. We also want to spend weekends there, in a tent or a wooden shed or whatever.

We are looking for one or two acres. My questions are these:
If the field we buy was used in the past as a horse paddock or was not used for anything in particular, would we be allowed to do the above things on it, or would we need to get permission for change of use?
Are you allowed to put a tent up and spend a weekend in a field? We obviously won't be living there permanently or anything like that.
Could we erect a shed or other storage space?

Can somebody point me in the right directions to get these answers, please? We don't want to buy a field and then discover we are not allowed to do anything with it. We would need to get answers BEFORE buying a particular piece of land, and I don't know who to ask.

Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks very much.
Lindsay

[grahamhobbs]

I think that all the things you propose would not need planning permission until it comes to the shed/storage space, then it could become an issue. If the field is at least 5 acres then you can build a barn, you have to apply for permission, but from what I understand it can't be refused although they can quibble about position, aesthetics, etc. Below 5 acres there is no right to build a barn, but a shed I don't know. Best to ask the local planners if on agriculatural land there is a size for a temporary strcucture below which you don't need permission. I know you now need to apply for permission for a polytunnel but a small shed, I don't know.

[John Headstrong]

I friend of mine has done something similar.

he started with a cheap broken caravan, and planted trees around the whole land and around the caravan / shelter.

noone has said anything legal wise, he often stays a few days at a time. It has evolved into a green roofed low barn/workspace with a small kitchen for tea/supper making.

He is really turning his land into a forest (wood and fruit) but he does have quite a few raised beds near the shelter.

this http://www.woodlands.co.uk/owning-a-wood/ has some information that might help (there is also info about keeping bees there)
Go for it I say! once you own it you can do what you want (apart from build a house) worse that could happen is that you will own a field.

[oldfella]

Just go for it, and plead insanity when the gnomes turn up.


"Rules wot rules"

[lindsay]

Thanks for the encouragement and information, guys! I think you are right -- you buy a field by buying a field, not spending ages trying to research the pros and cons and getting discouraged! As you say, at the very worse we will end up owning a piece of land.

We are just looking out for the right place. We want to be away from people, so we have a better chance of doing our thing without anybody objecting. We are quite limited financially, so it may take a while, but I'm on several agents' mailing lists now and am hopeful that something affordable and suitable will turn up soon.

I will keep you posted!

Lindsay

[happy place]

i would advise trying to contact land owners directly the problem is you see a peice of land but dont know who owns it . the only successful way i have found of finding owners is to pin letters to gates,post letters through neighbours letter boxes asking at the nearest pub/post office.
be prepared for questions to be asked and be honest and up front to a degree (if end aim is to live there dont tell them)
good luck
happyplace

[lindsay]

Thanks happyplace. So far we've approached three farmers through friends and family. One had a field to sell but had already found a buyer, the other two aren't using the fields we wanted, but aren't selling them either. We also posted a note through somebody's letterbox and got a phone call that same day - unfortunately the answer was no there too, as he is about to sell his house and wants to include the field in the sale. It is very frustrating, and if we had a bit more money to play with our options would open up considerably, but as it is we'll just have to keep looking...

Lindsay

[happyigloo]

Hey just one word of advice - Make sure you have access to water. Might be hard to use just rainwater if you have lots of things growing in a hot summer or when planting tree's. Maybe it's possible though and you just have to make provisions for it.

[happy place]

i know that money feeling
why is it on the tele progs they have more money than brain cells and want land but dont know how to use it

[lindsay]

Hello again

I'm pleased to say we have now bought a field!

We paid about 30% more than we had originally planned, but the bonus is that we got almost four acres PLUS an old piggery building which is about 132 ft long x 30 ft wide. No need to worry about getting planning permission to put up a storage unit,as we now have all the space we could need. We also have a huge roof from which to harvest rain water, and the field has a drain at the bottom end (it's on a slight slope) which will supply some water too. We are only a matter of metres from a village high street, so getting connected to mains water may be an option if we discover we can't harvest enough. But we wont rush into that, as the whole point is to be off grid if possible.

We took ownership about a month ago and are now waiting for a local farmer to come and cut all the weeds down and then plough most of it, ready for planting in the spring. Spuds, carrots, leeks, etc, the usual allotment type stuff, to eat and sell.

After all our messing about trying to find out who owns what piece of land through friends of friends, posting notes through doors etc, we found our field by looking in the property section of our local newspaper! Almost dismissed it as too expensive, but we are really happy with it now. It is fifteen miles from where we live, but once hubby retires we will move to the village where the field is (too far to commute at the moment).

Good luck to everybody else who has posted on here about buying land. It is fantastic once you've found the right bit! xx

[Harasimow]

Exciting stuff. Keep us posted on how it goes.

[Millymollymandy]

Congratulations! You will have fun growing veg on 4 acres!!

[spider8]

Well done and congrats How lovely to be a landowner! We hope everything goes well for you there and for when you can move nearer to it. Green with envy .

[oldjerry]

Ifyou plan on keeping livestock (other than poultry) now or at any time in the far off future it's worth getting thisregistered as a holding,anyhow Welldone ! Best Wishes.

[lindsay]

Thanks for the good wishes. We won't be using the full four acres to grow veg -- about an acre is going to be given over to grass and a park/garden area for our daughter, and another acre is being left to wilderness, to encourage wildlife. (Although I realise we will have a battle with rabbits and birds destroying our plants!)

Because we live so far away (15 miles) we can't go out there every day, so chickens and animals are out of the question at the moment, but yes, we are going to get registered at some point and as soon as hubby can finish work we'll move closer and then look at livestock.

We were out there in the snow today, clearing MORE brambles and getting an IBC in place beneath one of the gutters. So much to do, so little time...

xx