Hello, hoping to find a place to off grid

[Ollie B]

I will soon be having to move and on a small budget am looking to build a 2 bed prefab or something, off grid.

 

In an ideal world it would be a few acres with some trees so I could grow vegetables and have some chickens.

 

Warm regards

 

 

[Nickfromwales]

Hi, and welcome aboard 🫡. 
 

There’s threads on here from

a chap who was a hutter, @Tennentslager  

 

Have a read of his adventures here as a start point 👍. 
 

 

[ToughButterCup]

9 hours ago, Ollie B said:

...

In an ideal world it would be a few acres with some trees so I could grow vegetables and have some chickens.

...

 

Hello. Welcome

Hold on to your dream. No matter how long it takes. The world isn't ideal for anyone . You might have to compromise.

[Roger440]

On 05/02/2025 at 22:00, Ollie B said:

I will soon be having to move and on a small budget am looking to build a 2 bed prefab or something, off grid.

 

In an ideal world it would be a few acres with some trees so I could grow vegetables and have some chickens.

 

Warm regards

 

 

 

Going to be hard. In England. However, you might want to consider Wales. They have the one planet scheme that might be suitable for you. https://www.iwa.wales/agenda/2022/09/one-planet-smallholdings-a-new-path-to-rural-sustainability/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA2JG9BhAuEiwAH_zf3jDnvlaLXX8aSzNQcgHM_OPzeBI0vPhv525kt4_WJ9Gt1fs__gn5FBoCne8QAvD_BwE

 

I think this was how youtuber Kris Harbour did his place.

 

[GTM_88]

Generally (not always, but more often than not)

 

The fastest way to achieve what your setting out to do is buy "brownfield" previously developed land that has some type of existing structure in some state of disrepair and apply for a change of usage to residential. or buy land that already has residential usage class, and it has a derilict bungalow on it. 

 

The other more long term route that's common is starting a small holding agricultural business and slowly (over years) working upto living there, using your agricultural activity to eventually argue you have good reason to be there 24/7 

 

As someone's rightly mentioned, Wales has the one planet development scheme which is similar to the agricultural route but they give you a trial period when you can live on the land at the same time and you get a timeframe to prove it's viable, meeting certain criteria (self sufficient to a certain degree) 

 

Unfortunately it's incredibly difficult to buy cheap land (land with other usage designation) and be successful in getting a change of use to residential. People have done it but it's extremely difficult, the people I have met who have achieved it (done afair bit of work on small holdings over the years) were exceptionally thick skinned, very switched on and good at arguing lol planning law is open to interpretation, he who argues and twists the truth and manoeuvres best, wins. it's often won on pretty far fetched grounds lol, planning enforcement takes one approach to stop you doing something and you pull something out the hat they didn't see coming 😂 there seems to be a common misconception if you get a certain type of animal or quantity and start breeding it your good to go, it's more a case of that's worked for some lucky soul in the past, but it won't work at all for many others. Starting an Alpaca sanctuary was one, breeding rare pigs was another, but some councillors hate alpacas apparently 😂 It's advisable to contact a local planning consultant who will have some insight and have local experience and may know what's more favourable. The other common misconception is you don't need planning if it's a "temporary structure" and can be moved, that's very far from the truth, the land usage has to fit and be residential otherwise you only get 28 days a year alternative use (like camping and the such like) even then on some land you don't even get that (pasture, greenbelt to name afew) 

 

Scotland also has abit more sympathy towards people wanting to conduct agricultural business and live on the land. I'm not certain on the exact acreage, think it's 13 or 16 acres of agricultural land has wider "permitted development" rules, over a certain size your allowed to erect a barn for storage of machinery, that can certainly improve your chances. Nothing in "permitted development" is a given though, if someone decides to object, it often becomes meaningless and you'll likely be made to apply for planning. 

 

Greatly wish you the best in your endeavour. 

Edited February 10 by GTM_88

[SteamyTea]

3 hours ago, GTM_88 said:

Scotland also has abit more sympathy

They have designated areas where you can build small (<50m²) homes.  But sure there are some rules.

Someone on here has built one.

[Nickfromwales]

58 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

They have designated areas where you can build small (<50m²) homes.  But sure there are some rules.

Someone on here has built one.

@Crofter yes?

[ProDave]

1 hour ago, Nickfromwales said:

@Crofter yes?

@Crofter built a second property on the croft he owned.   Probably thinking of the member that built a "hut"

 

@Ollie B what is your budget?  And do you have to live in a particular place?  It is still possible to buy cheap building plots in remote parts of Scotland for under £50K

[Nickfromwales]

1 minute ago, ProDave said:

Probably thinking of the member that built a "hut"

 

On 05/02/2025 at 22:31, Nickfromwales said:

There’s threads on here from

a chap who was a hutter, @Tennentslager  

☝️? Or another?

[-rick-]

This may not be in your budget but a route to look at is a small residential plot that backs onto a field. You'd obviously have to make two purchases and the farmer will likely charge a premium for it but it might offer a route around the planning restrictions.

 

I don't know how realistic this is but has been an option I've been looking at myself.

[Crofter]

On 10/02/2025 at 16:13, SteamyTea said:

They have designated areas where you can build small (<50m²) homes.  But sure there are some rules.

Someone on here has built one.

I'm not aware of such a rule. 

The closest I can think of is hutting.

This allows you to build a simple, somewhat temporary, low impact structure for occasional, non commercial habitation. I think there is a size limit, which I can't remember offhand, but the main thrust of it is that it's really supposed to be a glorified shed, and it must not be continuously occupied. The actual rules around it are pretty wooly.

 

I haven't done it, but I did look in to it. In our part of the world short term lets can be very successful, and whilst we wouldn't be allowed to rent out a hut, I considered building one to live in over the summer whilst we rented our own house out. That would have been within the rules as far as I could understand them.

 

The hutting concept really has its roots in woodland huts and when I made some enquiries, it became clear that I would never get permission to erect something on open moorland, which is what my croft consists of. So I took the idea no further.