Pilsdon's spire and a comet. Or more prosaically a plane trail. |
In the same year that saw the birth of the NHS, the British Parliament passed an Act that prevented its citizens from living wherever they liked. We’ll look after you but you have to live where we tell you to. According to the Town and Country Planning Act, no longer could you simply go and build a house on your own land to live in, you must first ask permission from the local council. Who will probably say no. The growing population was to be kept within the boundaries of land classified as “residential”, a relatively small proportion of the total landmass. Even today, only 10% of the UK is built up according to the Office for National Statistics. The rest is farms, forests and lakes.
Pilsdon's quad with the re-built Loose Boxes on the left, and the North Barn with its slate roof being fixed |
Is this a good thing? On the one hand it means the country, although having a large population for its diminutive size, still manages to have large swathes of open countryside, much of it accessible to anyone who chooses to go rambling, cycling or hang gliding across it. Unlike California or Mexico City the urban sprawl has not been allowed to spread unchecked, and so the countryside is not on the whole gobbled up by speculative property developers building huge bland housing estates. On the other, we apparently don’t have enough houses for all the people living here and we’re not building new ones quickly enough.
Perhaps surprisingly, the law that stops semi-detached houses springing up all over the Lake District also prevents people from living on their own piece of land in a caravan. Regardless of the fact that the latter is on wheels, planning law says you should not stay more than 28 days in your own caravan on your own land, unless the land is classed as ‘residential’. Neither are you allowed to build yourself a simple wooden hut and live in it whilst working the land for veg or livestock, unless you are a Scottish crofter for whom special provisions are made.
Some of Pilsdon's red cabbages about to be chopped, blanched, bagged and put in the freezer |
We made 5 big bags, 6lb each, for the freezer |
I was aware of these facts when I moved onto my land in April last year and was always prepared to hear from the local planners asking what I was doing. Breaching planning law is not an offence. (Not leaving when ordered to do so by the council, is.) In my case however, as I am not staying the whole year round, but working my market garden as a 'seasonal agricultural worker', I am not in breach. Seasonal agricultural workers may stay in a caravan on-site without the need for planning permission, although this should be confirmed by the local council.
This argument is about to be put to the test. The local planners, Snowdonia National Park Authority, have sent me a letter saying they have been informed of the presence of a caravan and polytunnel, and have even been to visit in October (I was out). They would like me to explain what is going on. I replied by email last Wednesday, outlining the justification described above and asking if the polytunnel and greenhouse require planning permission since they do not have concrete foundations. No response from them yet. I continue on the assumption that I will be allowed to remain and develop my business, providing broccoli to the un-broccoli'ed in the area and so forth. But my future on the land at this moment is not assured.
A shoulder of an ex-pig is slowly transformed into a lovely pork and bean casserole that we ate last night |
4 comments:
Re. your planning visit; I wonder how they found out you were there? Please keep us informed about progress on this.
The letter said that someone had brought it to their attention, the fact that a polytunnel and a caravan were there. Both are visible, just, from the road.
Where my parents used to live, someone started living in a section of the field across the way, that they owned, in a mobile home, with generator etc. Many locals complained but the council never seemed to manage to move him on, so i suspect there is a gap between law and enforcing it.
I suspect councils are reluctant to send the heavies in to turf people out of their (mobile) homes, in reality. It apparently does happen though.
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