Log Store

[Cassie]

Well I suppose if you want to be pedantic it's actually a plantation but there were no SPOG's on the internet

[oldclaypaws]

If we're honest and ask what facilities or equipment we really must have to manage a given woodland area, I think the current planning laws have a loophole to the advantage of small woodland owners having 2 hectares+

We are allowed sheds, but don't really need them for equipment, we use them for leisure to prepare the barby, keep a few folding chairs in, and occasionally crash in after too many vinos.

I have a bit over 5 acres, or four times the size of Cassie's wood, actively manage it, and get by fine with just a few hand tools, a chainsaw and wheelbarrow- they take up a shelf in the garage.

I'm considering building a 25ft x 15ft shed with a logburner but don't need it at all, it'll be done more for the craic, and occasional weekend retreat. Describing it to the planners as a necessary 'toolstore' for agricultural use is a bit of a joke- it's 30 times as big as the space I need and I'd never be daft enough to leave valuable tools in an unattended shed.

My friends with 48 acres want to have a minimum impact on the wood, they do a lot of work there, but get by with a 3m shipping container to store the ATV. The rest fits in the boot of their car.

Its nice to have toys to play with like tractors, log splitters, etc, but for a small 0.75 hectare wood they aren't essential, unless you are elderly or have physical impairments (the fact you've built a large shed suggests you are fit), and the planners aren't daft.

I really do hope the planners are lenient Cassie and you are allowed to maintain your splendid shed, but if they do, they got out of the right side of bed that day and are being generous.

[Cassie]

I'll try to keep my answer short, as I don't want to get caught up in unnecessary justification as to why we have our equipment.
We have both retired the "small" forest which we feel very fortunate to own albeit only 0.75hectres is on a very steep incline, the tractor which is smaller than a car helps us to bring the wood down the steep embankment, as for the splitter, my husband worked for well over a year splitting logs with an axe but this was too much for him, hence the splitter, we use the logs from "under managed woodlands" carbon neutral, all encouraged by Forestry commission, I am sure if we were younger we could manage it with a wheelbarrow and a chainsaw, which we did at the outset, but why struggle when equipment is there to make the management more pleasurable, hopefully it will allow us to enjoy our time in the woods/forest/plantation for many years to come.
We have tried drying logs under tarpaulin which does not work, they became damp and mildewed.
The log store which took my husband several months to build, would only be used as a log store and for no other reason, we are not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.
We have contacted the original enforcement officer who called at our house and is in total agreement with us and will do her best to support our view that this should come under PD under the Town & Country act, and that full planning is over the top for a log store, although the final decision is not down to her, let common sense prevail.

[Dexter's Shed]

The log store which took my husband several months to build, would only be used as a log store and for no other reason,
apart from;
the log store is also used to store our log splitter, small tractor & trailer and ancillaries to facilitate our woodland management.

so its a shed not a log store then

[Cassie]

It's an open sided log store, when we have the space and during inclement weather we will store other items but on the whole and for the most part it is used to season logs

[splodger]

ican understand why you feel frustrated cassie - but there are a few issues that the "planners" would not like - obviously the small size of the woodland area is an issue - i can see why they might object to such a large "store" in relation to wood size
however, i think your biggest mistake was to concrete the posts - if you had just plonked some poles in the ground and firmed them in using rubble etc - you might well have avoided some problems

just one point from your last posting - surely you want the log store to store your dry logs in - you can't really "season" wood indoors - the whole point of seasoning - is to expose the wood fully to the elements - depending on which timber - this "seasoning" can take several years - if you want to produce a perfect log for burning - oak and sweet chestnut for instance are much better - imho - when seasoned for a number of years, ash requires much less seasoning, birch less still (a nice summer would do)

we don't attempt to season or dry any of our logs undercover - all of our timber gets fully exposed to the seasonal weather - when they are ready for drying - they are laid out in the sun and exposed to the wind - to help get rid of any moisture still left in them - only when they are fully seasoned and dry, do they go into a log store. no good putting wet logs in a dry store - they could make everything else damp / mouldy

to help with drying cord wood - in prep of logging up - it really helps if you can stand it up on end instead of laying horizontally in a cord pile - and you don't need a covered store to do that either.

[Cassie]

Thanks splodger I would just like to point out that we are in the process of following Dark Peak objectives restructuring moorland edge conifer plantations to increase the proportion of native broad-leaved trees and develop a transition zone between moorland and woodland", this will take time as the forest has not been managed for over 40 years and is mainly Larch, we envy people who have "Woodlands" containing broad leaved native species and will do our best to replace non native with native although we will not see the benefits in our lifetime but others will.
We do stack cord piles and will take your advice to stack upright instead of horizontally, once the wood has weathered for several months we then split and store.
The planners have not said a great deal about the structure of the store just the fact we are storing fuel for domestic use.
Anyway if they will not agree to PD under the Town & Country act we will go with full planning.

[Dexter's Shed]

is this the same bit of wood that you were have a battle with your neighbor with? and if so, how did that go

[Cassie]

Yes good memory DS, all worked out in our favour eventually, although it took two years and a great deal of stress but we had done nothing wrong and just wanted to proceed with the original agreement made with our neighbour, witnessed by our solicitor, but she decided this didn't suit her and tried to back track, a very difficult time but we stuck at it and it paid off.

[oldclaypaws]

2 years ago, during the unfortunate dispute with your neighbour, who sounds fairly difficult and petty, you said

she will have an embargo put in place to stop me carrying out any work whatsoever on the woodland without her permission

Now, could we make a wild guess as to who might have brought your shed/store to the attention of the planners?

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but with this history of tensions with the neighbour and their stated objection to you doing anything, it would have been better if you'd checked out the planners attitude to a structure prior to building it. It doesn't cost anything, you can ring them for an informal chat, state what you'd like to do, and they'll give an informed opinion as to whether it'll be likely to be permitted or if formal permission is needed. I nearly came unstuck doing the same at home putting up a kiln shed with a roof on it, in the end I got permission going through the planning process. The objections raised by a couple of neighbours were ludicrous and hypocritical.

It certainly pays to know the regulations before thinking of carrying out an activity or putting something up, and trying to be reasonable with neighbours, asking them to express any concerns they might have. Jaw-jaw is always better than war-war.