Any chance of planning/ideas for use of ground

[croboy]

Hi, we purchased a house on a former farm which came with a piece of land approximately 1 acre. The land historically had various buildings on it which were demolished and removed when the farm was developed into properties.

 

we commissioned an architect to put in a preplanning application and received a summary response

 

“It is considered that the proposal is unlikely to be supportable in planning terms. Theproposal represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt in accordance with
Policy STP 8 and national planning policy. Despite the intention to provide a home of
exceptional quality design, it is not considered likely that very special circumstances will
exist to enable the development proposal to be supported.”

 

 Which is guess is pretty standard for Green Belt land. I suppose my question is

 

1: is it worth pursuing as the architect said it could be 8k plus to work up a full application using panels to assess the application in advance etc (could this be done far cheaper??)

 

2. if planning for a dwelling is a no-no then what could i do with this land that could lend itself to future development? 
 

at the moment i have to pay to have it maintained so its not an eyesore for the neighbours who live that side of the farm. Id be happy to share full details with any experts who have suggestions 

 

Attached a historic photo of the land with buildings in purple and a modern photo with just grass

Edited Wednesday at 10:57 by croboy

[IanR]

57 minutes ago, croboy said:

The land historically had various buildings on it which were demolished and removed when the farm was developed into properties.

 

Hi & welcome. Assuming you are outside of an established settlement, now the buildings have been removed they can't help with a new planning, unfortunately. From what you've said they are likely to have been removed in a trade-off for the development that has occurred, making it even less likely that the site could be re-developed.

 

That leaves the Para 84(e) option mentioned by your architect. This is a long and expensive route with no garuntees, costs overall will be much higher than £8K. Do some research into Architect's that specialise in this type of application.

 

Some LPA's may not accept that the site is an "Isolated" position (that allows for Para84(e)), due to the neighbouring properties, but there is now some case law that has defined "isolated" as anything that is not within a built settlement.

 

Ref. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework/5-delivering-a-sufficient-supply-of-homes

 

If it were mine I'd canvas the adjacent properties so see what it is worth to them, someone may want to keep a horse and pay a premium for it. If no one offers an amount acceptable to you, then you could apply for Equestrian use + stables and tack room, with a high enough ridge that can be later converted. With water and electricity connected it could return a reasonable rent, while you wait it out for 5 - 10 years and then approach the council for a conversion/re-build.

It's got a low chance of success, but stops being a chain around your neck and covers its costs.

Caveat - hopefully you have access rights over the drive/track and it includes running utilities?

Edited Wednesday at 11:45 by IanR

[croboy]

Hi Ian

 

thanks for that. Yes we own the drive and allow the neighbors access (the owner of our property developed the farm so thats how it was set up and we have a private driveway). Ironically my wife has a horse we pay a fortune to keep but she claims 1 acre is not enough land to keep a horse on 🤷‍♂️. 

[Russell griffiths]

Holiday cottage on it, if your in a sought after area. 

[ToughButterCup]

23 hours ago, croboy said:

...

2. if planning for a dwelling is a no-no then what could i do with this land that could lend itself to future development? 
...

 

• Wait. 
• Do not lose focus on the possibility of a house
• Keep the area mown.
• Watch - like a hawk - the Planning legislation develop over this Government's incumbency
• Network with appropriate people - Planners, Local Govt execs, Estate Agents, builders, publicans
• Prime key people to tip you the wink when anything new and relevant is happening in your local Planning area
• Know your Local Development Plan inside-out
• As @IanR says - infrastructure : no poop disposal, no sparks, no phone line, no water - > no house. Double check everything
• Check your LPAs website regulalry for similar applications - 'know' the territory
• Keep the idea alive in your head: plan > cost >replan

We waited from 1985 to 2012(ish) . SWMBO never forgets anything. Useful (sometimes😑)

[saveasteading]

You can get your LPA website to post new applications to you. The neighbouring areas too if similar circumstances. Learn from them free of charge.

You may even end up being more expert than the experts, but will still need them for their credibility.

[Alan Ambrose]

Sounds v unlikely, that's why they made the developer remove the old buildings - exactly to preempt further development. Wildflower meadow maybe - may need less upkeep and should be good to look at?

[Tom]

Stick a barn on it, allow the neighbouring farmer to use it for ten years after which apply for change of use to residential - and then knock it down and build a house?

[markc]

@croboy we are in a similar position at the moment, having been looking for a suitable plot for a new build for many years, last year a bungalow with 1.5ish acre came up for sale in a great location, (with possibility of buying a further 10-15 acres later on). it had been built by the two farmers for their parents who passed and then sold to another family (who I purchased from) who knocked down the old barn and applied for planning for a replacement barn - refused, then re applied for a oak framed triple garage - refused, appealed and again refused. We bought the place, used a local architect and applied for a man shed on the paddock area - no chance, re applied with the shed moved onto the garden area to replace some old stables - nope! We reduced the size to 150sqm but still no, planners are now willing to discuss a possible design for 2x 75sqm (so they are unlikely to become dwellings in the future) under permitted development.

hoping to get a go ahead in next couple of weeks so I can build my man-sheds.

 

[markc]

10 minutes ago, Tom said:

Stick a barn on it, allow the neighbouring farmer to use it for ten years after which apply for change of use to residential - and then knock it down and build a house?

Even barns are difficult unless you have over 5 hectares

[croboy]

According to the original owners the buildings on the paddock were demolished "accidentally" as they had presumed once a building had been on it they would be able to put a bungalow on it and downsize at some point. The land reverted to being classed as agricultural and here we are. 

[torre]

If you don't want to play the long game you could put it on the market as possibly suitable for equestrian use etc and include an overage clause in any sale (be up front about that).

 

You're likely to get at least some interest from self builders and local developers, who may be more willing to take a punt on an expensive push for planning than you are.

 

If you sell, you save yourself the maintenance and realise some value now, with the possibility of a future windfall in future.

 

Downside is losing control of what happens to this land you're next door to. Maybe it'll be left to go wild, maybe it's future development will spoil your enjoyment of your own home.

[torre]

(Unfortunately your pre-app advice has probably reduced the sale value somewhat)

 

Seek permission for a solar farm maybe, including a couple of outbuildings?