Please - what is Amenity land!?

[Chef40]

Hello!

I don’t know whether anyone would be able to help - I cannot find any information anywhere!

We live in the South Downs National Park and our house has about an acre of ‘amenity land’. I’ve been told we’re not allowed to remove the fence separating it from our garden, or to turn it into ‘garden curtilage’. BUT I can’t find anything that formally states what you can and can’t do.

I’d really like to put a play area on it for our kids but have no idea whether this would be acceptable?

VERY grateful for any advice, thanks!

Ben

[Roundtuit]

Unless you're talking big towers and zip slides, I'd probably just do it. Any neighbours likely to object?

[Temp]

+1 although I wouldn't spend a fortune. 

 

Basically its agricultural rather than residential land. So you can normally use it for growing things or keeping animals (unless other restrictions apply). You cant officially treat it as garden so you're not allowed to set up permanent swings and slides. Even jumps for a pony have caused problems elsewhere because jumping a pony is different to grazing one.

 

What you can do is use it for almost anything you like for up to 28 days a year.  So things like letting the scouts use it for a 1 week scout camp or even a motor bike scrambling session is normally ok (as long as you don't create a statutory noise nuisance).  

 

If you want to turn it into part of your garden officially you could apply for planning permission for "change of use". 

 

If you just "do it anyway" you might get away with it unless its very obvious from the road or someone complains. If you get away with it for 10 years the planners loose their ability to take enforcement action. So make dated records of when you started using it as a garden. Even if the planners get unhappy they almost never just hit you with formal enforcement action. There are no instant fines. They would first send you a letter warning you that unless you return it to its original state they "intend to take enforcement action". Don't panic. At that point you could either comply or apply for planning permission. The latter would delay any enforcement until the application is considered (perhaps a few months). If planning permission was refused you could appeal potentially delaying things for a year. In theory if you still refuse to remove the playground then the council could take it down and bill you for the work so don't let it get that far but you can still give them a good run.   

 

Deliberately hiding the equipment with say straw bales allows the planners more time to initiate enforcement action (law changed after someone hid an illegal castle that way!)

[IanR]

In planning terms, Amenity land is an area of land that has a residential use, ie. can be used for the enjoyment of the attached dwelling, but can't be considered Residential Curtilage, so you can't have permanent domestic structures on it such as sheds, bike store, bin store, washing line etc. and doesn't count towards PD for outbuildings where you can cover 50% of the original curtilage.

 

To the best of my knowledge it requires no boundary separating it from the residential curtilage , so does not require fencing off. I certainly know of a few that are just extensions to the garden.

 

I see it often used in rural areas where the planners have allowed a change of use, but wish to keep the residential paraphernalia close to the building and not spread out into what was previously agricultural land.

 

Start off small, and see if anyone complains.

Edited July 22, 2021 by IanR

[Chef40]

1 hour ago, Roundtuit said:

Unless you're talking big towers and zip slides, I'd probably just do it. Any neighbours likely to object?

Thank you. Unfortunately we do have a neighbour who will object to anything not 100% kosher

[Chef40]

1 hour ago, Temp said:

+1 although I wouldn't spend a fortune. 

 

Basically its agricultural rather than residential land. So you can normally use it for growing things or keeping animals (unless other restrictions apply). You cant officially treat it as garden so you're not allowed to set up permanent swings and slides. Even jumps for a pony have caused problems elsewhere because jumping a pony is different to grazing one.

 

What you can do is use it for almost anything you like for up to 28 days a year.  So things like letting the scouts use it for a 1 week scout camp or even a motor bike scrambling session is normally ok (as long as you don't create a statutory noise nuisance).  

 

If you want to turn it into part of your garden officially you could apply for planning permission for "change of use". 

 

If you just "do it anyway" you might get away with it unless its very obvious from the road or someone complains. If you get away with it for 10 years the planners loose their ability to take enforcement action. So make dated records of when you started using it as a garden. Even if the planners get unhappy they almost never just hit you with formal enforcement action. There are no instant fines. They would first send you a letter warning you that unless you return it to its original state they "intend to take enforcement action". Don't panic. At that point you could either comply or apply for planning permission. The latter would delay any enforcement until the application is considered (perhaps a few months). If planning permission was refused you could appeal potentially delaying things for a year. In theory if you still refuse to remove the playground then the council could take it down and bill you for the work so don't let it get that far but you can still give them a good run.   

 

Deliberately hiding the equipment with say straw bales allows the planners more time to initiate enforcement action (law changed after someone hid an illegal castle that way!)

That’s really helpful, thanks very much. Sounds like it’s gonna be tricky - we have a bit-picky neighbour and it would be pretty visible!

[Ferdinand]

On 22/07/2021 at 21:47, Chef40 said:

Thank you. Unfortunately we do have a neighbour who will object to anything not 100% kosher

 

You could plant a hedge of these:

See Salix Viminalis as a shelter crop for what you actually want.

 

You can of course make your fence less prominent without removing it.

 

What about a swimming hole? 

[harry_angel]

I have "amenity" land too and have been trying to figure out what the hell to do with it....and @Chef40 we have problem neighbours in abundance....numpty neighbours everywhere, it seems....

 

We took down the fencing dividing the land from the "garden/residential curtilage" on the advice of a planning consultant to start blurring the line a bit...

 

@Temp I presume you can, say, buy some pigs or sheep and erect agricultural buildings for them, and then in turn apply for change of use for said agricultural buildings to something more residential-y.....?

 

But in terms of erecting structures in it that feels like the only way to go.

 

Albeit I did find an old 1878 map which showed a building of some kind on this land, but I was advised as this is long gone, it's not of planning value...

[Temp]

2 hours ago, harry_angel said:

 

@Temp I presume you can, say, buy some pigs or sheep and erect agricultural buildings for them, and then in turn apply for change of use for said agricultural buildings to something more residential-y.....?

 

Amenity Land is normally has some visual importance and contribution to the character of the area so the planners may take an interest in any change of use. They may consider that its current use is just to look nice even if it doesn't actually look that nice. There will be patches of amenity land in cities and grazing animals there wouldn't go down well. 

[Lorenz]

"Amenity land is usually used for recreational purposes, such as playground etc. This is a common term used in planning, such as section 106 agreements. I hope that helps. Regards Claire Ask Your Own UK Property Law Question''

 

I know nothing about this, but some friends just bought a piece that I thought was an overgrown allotment and is surrounded by what look like allotments and some of them actually are allotments! They just cleared it of some quite large trees. 

From reading this thread and looking on the internet, it does look like it is designed to create more work for solicitors, just like conveyancing and the mess that is the Land Registry.

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Lorenz

[SuperPav]

Fencing/separation in and of itself is not a change of use (and has been judged as such in previous court rulings) so the fence is largely immaterial to the "use". If you want to use the land for recreation, I'd be tempted to just do it, but equally be respectful to it being its own, separated plot even if there is no fence.

 

I wouldn't install anything on it which as above is "residential" specifically something like a garden shed. Kids playing equipment, depending on size etc. and a picnic table would be a bit of a grey area but you could always move/remove if required - if you treat the land as a parcel that you go to for recreation rather than a de-facto extension of your garden, then you should be alright, and it would be for the council to issue an enforcement notice against the change of use, which you could appeal. 

 

As above, for 28 days of the year you can virtually do whatever you want to be honest, so just keep a record of those.

[CKSmoggy]

Hi folks! New to the forum!

 

A section of my property is apparently 'residential amenity'. Its immediately adjacent to my driveway and roughly 1.5 car spaces in size.

I had applied for planning permission to extend the driveway as it was largely pointless space, but my neighbours complained. The planning request ultimately got rejected. The council describes the land as 'significant green space for the community'. Ridiculous.

 

I'm now stuck with a plot of dirt with a few weeds and plants on it.

Apparently I can't even landscape with decorative chippings.

 

Am unexpected to just maintain the land? Can I let it just grow wild as a big f-you to the council? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[Temp]

4 hours ago, CKSmoggy said:

Am unexpected to just maintain the land? Can I let it just grow wild as a big f-you to the council? 

 

Yes, provided it doesn't create a statutory nuisance. For example don't let rubbish and or rats accumulate. However letting it go wild may detract from the value of your house when you sell in the future. Plant some fruit trees?

 

Typically you can do a lot if things on land for up to 28 days a year without needing planning permission. A group of off road bikers were using a field for scrambling twice a month in our area. Not much the planners could do about it. In the end they applied for Planning Permission to allow weekly use but abandoned the idea when a covenant was discovered.