Planning Permission for a shed within small woodland

[Wendelspanswick]

A useful source of countryside planning information can be found here:
http://www.fieldtofarm.com/forum/
You can read the forum without joining but to post you need to join which involves buying the book or doing as I did which was to borrow the book from my local library.

[SimonFisher]

A paragraph that caught my eye from Woodlands and planning legislation page on the Woodlands web site is

Part 4 of the GPDO may be of interest to those not working in forestry but wanting occasionally to stay overnight in their woodland. According to this section, on a holding exceeding 5 acres, up to three caravans can be stationed for human habitation at any one time, provided that the site is not used for this purpose for more than 28 days in a year.

I've looked at said legislation (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/418/made) but I'm struggling to find any such provision. Any one else abor to find it?

[paulolding]

Hi
thanks for thoughts. We don't plan on putting any sort of caravan on the site. Any advice of prior notification for permitted development (the route we have currently followed) vs full planning permission?

cheers

[Jackdaw]

Not everything requires the official stamp from the authorities, particularly when they tend not to really understand their own rules.
Its much much MUCH easier to gain retrospective consent on many woodland planning issues, than to spend months on the preliminary can I cant I . I appreciate that spending thousands of pounds on a permanent dwelling might not be the best idea without the official clearance, but most other things just go under the radar. We have a structure within our wood that was erected, used for years, and since has mostly rotted away. Are the planning dept aware of it, are they b.....ks !!. Life's short, time to grab it fast.

[Wendelspanswick]

Hi
thanks for thoughts. We don't plan on putting any sort of caravan on the site. Any advice of prior notification for permitted development (the route we have currently followed) vs full planning permission?

cheers

We went down the Prior Notification route which is completely different from Permitted Development, you need to make sure you understand the difference between the two.
You have to be savvy when you put you PN application in, use the Field To Farm website to fill it in, have a look on the LA website for previous applications in your area to see what has failed and what has succeeded.
When you put your PN application in the local LA have 28 days to object to your application, they can't just object for no reason, they have to have a valid argument.
I put ours in about 2 weeks before Christmas, lots of parties, staff off work through illness or holidays etc.
The staff are supposed to visit your site to judge its merits, when I put my application in the local area was so badly flooded the LA staff struggled to get to the office let alone a remote rural location.
Your next best time to submit an application would be the start of the school summer holidays when lots of staff are on holiday.
Research, research, research!

[wood pixie]

I am in Scotland but believe that planning is basically the same over GB.
After a bad caravan experience we now have a lovely shed. You do not require planning permission for a shed. Call your local planning dept and they will send you out the forms for general permitted development. They are easily filled in but you will have to provide a map and a drawing of your proposed shed with dimensions, description of materials to be used and the colour of your shed.
You will have to say why you want a shed. But if you are like us and use it for shelter while you are working there doing forestry work and for storing equipment and feed then all should be fine.
Do NOT mention a stove as this falls into a different category and may require a building warrant.
The council have 28days to reply with an objection but this unlikely as they can only object on colour materials and size.
Our shed is 4.80 x 7.20 which we feel is a good size. The chances are that you Won't even hear back from the council so once 28 days have passed then you are deemed to automatically have permission.
Good luck

[Wendelspanswick]

What you have is Prior Notification Not Permitted Development, they are 2 completely different things!

[paulolding]

Thanks again for replies, but now I am as confused as I am from the planning portal website. We applied for prior notification for permitted development. Permitted development is the thing you need prior notification for the council to decide if it does indeed fall under permitted development...

That is why permitted development is a load of balls, cos you have to virtually fill out a planning application (as part of prior notification) for them to consider if indeed you plan does fall within permitted development. If you think I have got that wrong, then please do explain. But I have read every last document.

So I submitted my applciation for prior notification for permitted development and I got rejected because the council person (who did not ask for any additional information at tghe time) decided:

1. my shed was not reasonably necessary for the purpose of forestry

2. I had not submitted a woodland management paln

So I gave him a 20page document explaining the function use of my shed (4m x5m size) including all aspects of both conventional and economic forestry (making products for sale from forestry wood), and included various footprint sizes of the kit that would be in the shed which neatly amounted to the 20m2 floor space I had applied for. He then said that when he made his rejection, that was then end of that, and so effectively he gave some reasons as to why I was rejected, yet when I provided said extra info, he said the decision had already been made and that was then end of that

SO

I said well I think I still stand within the prior notification for permitted development rights, so I would apply again, but if he had rejected me once then chances are he would reject em again. So then in a last email, he has moved the goalpoasts and now said nothing about forestry use, but that an ecologist had he had asked had said it should be rejected. This is for a shed ina s mall woods, whereby no trees will be harmed/touched/lopped to make way for as shed, a shed remember that is made of wood and sits ona wooden base (no concrete base).

Keep the advice coming. Many thanks

[Dexter's Shed]

I think your problems are that your giving way too much information, the shed sounds fine, but including any wording that says, toilet,log burner,sitting and making stuff is what has stopped you getting further with this, I'm not one to read all the rules and regs, can't be bothered if Im honest and it goes over my head, but, I can remember reading that making stuff from greenwoods is something that can be done off site, and should not be a reason to build a shed, I can even see, they think you will end up living there end off.

it's far easier, if your wood is over 5 acres, to haul a caravan in, it can be used for storage, it has a toilet, not composting but then you could make it one simply enough, a place to shelter from the rain, drink coffee, even sleep in your permitted days, if anyone moans you can if need be, drag it from your plot onto a neighbours plot for a short amount of time, whilst you look after theirs of course

keep under the radar rather than jumping up and down waving your arms

[Wendelspanswick]

As I understand it:
Permitted Development = What you are allowed to do on your land without any involvement of the planning authority.
Prior Notification = What you are allowed to do on your land so long as you meet certain criteria and it requires you to check with the council that you meet that criteria.

If I were you I would ask the planners for details in writing of why they rejected your application, address those issues in a new application and apply in high summer or Christmas 2015 (see my previous post about the best time to apply).
If they object to your application then you can appeal, the last figures I saw was that over 70% of appeals were successful!

If you want I can private message you a link to my application to see how I did it?