Living in a Log Cabin. Any?

rolls1392

Hi there
We own a smallholding and are thinking about building a 2 bed log cabin on the land.
Has anyone done this
Any tips on negotiating the minefield of planning etc would be greatly appreciated. 
I really fancy living a bit off grid.
Thanks.

Fretwired

Contact these guys (there's a planning guide app on the site): http://logcabins.co.uk/planning-permission/

They produce a range of log cabins: http://logcabins.co.uk/the-keops-interlock-range-of-log-cabins/

A client of mine has one in her back garden that she uses as her office. It's very well appointed and even has a toilet and air con.

bloodandtears

I wouldn't build a log cabin on a minefield.

rolls1392

bloodandtears said:

I wouldn't build a log cabin on a minefield.

Have checked the field.
No minefield just badgers and foxes!

Phil_aka_Pip

Anyone considered something like this for a music/recording room? I'm sure they could be made soundproofed enough but can they be made secure enough?

VimFuego

I've got a number of friends who live off grid down here in Devon, If you're on facebook, this is a really useful group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1463715887259136/

I would also have a look at the Land is Ours: http://tlio.org.uk/chapter7/ ;

they've helped several friends and lots of folks get PP for off grid living.

gubble

VimFuego said:

I've got a number of friends who live off grid down here in Devon, If you're on facebook, this is a really useful group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1463715887259136/

I would also have a look at the Land is Ours: http://tlio.org.uk/chapter7/ ;

they've helped several friends and lots of folks get PP for off grid living.

Living of the grid but having a facebook page..........
Surely that's a contradiction ?

VimFuego

gubble said:

VimFuego said:

I've got a number of friends who live off grid down here in Devon, If you're on facebook, this is a really useful group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1463715887259136/

I would also have a look at the Land is Ours: http://tlio.org.uk/chapter7/ ;

they've helped several friends and lots of folks get PP for off grid living.

Living of the grid but having a facebook page..........
Surely that's a contradiction ?

oddly enough, no. We've had this discussion any number of times on that page (sadly you are not the 1st nor will you be the last to try that one) and IMO the term off grid is not useful as it's too easily misrepresented, no one lives off grid unless you've in the middle of the amazon or something. It's a sliding scale, and this is why I prefer the term low impact living.

EricTheWeary

gubble said:

VimFuego said:

I've got a number of friends who live off grid down here in Devon, If you're on facebook, this is a really useful group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1463715887259136/

I would also have a look at the Land is Ours: http://tlio.org.uk/chapter7/ ;

they've helped several friends and lots of folks get PP for off grid living.

Living of the grid but having a facebook page..........
Surely that's a contradiction ?

My first thought as well! 

gubble

VimFuego said:

gubble said:

Living of the grid but having a facebook page..........
Surely that's a contradiction ?

oddly enough, no. We've had this discussion any number of times on that page (sadly you are not the 1st nor will you be the last to try that one) and IMO the term off grid is not useful as it's too easily misrepresented, no one lives off grid unless you've in the middle of the amazon or something. It's a sliding scale, and this is why I prefer the term low impact living.

Ah ok. I think low impact living makes much more sense. To me off the grid implied zero electronic communication devices as well as the self sufficient living aspect.

You should suggest a rebrand (maybe with a snazzy logo)

ESBlonde

iirc you can build a dwelling on the property you work (so your smallholding). However it is exclusive to you and cannot be sold/used as a dwelling by anyone else after you. There is little planning required for this but the drawbacks are obvious to many.

Also there is a bloke on yootoob called Kris Harbour that is doing some off grid construction, water power etc. in the UK. Might be of interest. He's currently building a big soil bag workshop!

VimFuego

ESBlonde said:

iirc you can build a dwelling on the property you work (so your smallholding). However it is exclusive to you and cannot be sold/used as a dwelling by anyone else after you. There is little planning required for this but the drawbacks are obvious to many.

Also there is a bloke on yootoob called Kris Harbour that is doing some off grid construction, water power etc. in the UK. Might be of interest. He's currently building a big soil bag workshop!

you still need PP as you are changing the use of the land from agricultural to residential. Owning and working the land is not an automatic right.

ESBlonde

VimFuego said:

ESBlonde said:

iirc you can build a dwelling on the property you work (so your smallholding). However it is exclusive to you and cannot be sold/used as a dwelling by anyone else after you. There is little planning required for this but the drawbacks are obvious to many.

Also there is a bloke on yootoob called Kris Harbour that is doing some off grid construction, water power etc. in the UK. Might be of interest. He's currently building a big soil bag workshop!

you still need PP as you are changing the use of the land from agricultural to residential. Owning and working the land is not an automatic right.

I'm not a planning expert at all, I was led to understand that if you owned the land and earned your living exclusivly from it (like a woodsman), you could build a dwelling for yourself. But the dwelling was exclusive to the earner and could not be sold/gifted in the future making it a one shot installation. Not worth a fancy brick or stone structure, just a timber shack or mud wall kind of thing. I've no inclination to research whether it's true since I don't own enough land to earn a living from.

Phil_aka_Pip

There was a chap in some sussex woodland who built his own (straw bale iirc) house but was told only he could live in it and if ever he went to live elsewhere the house would have to be demolished.

VimFuego

that chap is Ben Laws, and he has to get PP. 
There are lots of myths bandied about on this subject, they are all false and people have literally been arrested on their own land if they've relied on these myths. The only way you can legally live on your own land is if it is classified as for residental use. Land that is classified as different needs to have PP to change this use.

MagicPigDetective

It is very very difficult to get planning permission for a new house in the countryside as it is not supported by national planning policies, with only a couple of exceptions. One way is to prove that there is an the essential need for a rural worker to live permanently at or near their place of work in the countryside; there are stringent financial and functional tests for this and it requires a report produced by a qualified person. In Wales there is the One Planet development for low impact dwelling; there are a lot of highly stringent criteria to meet, and if approved, you must live in accordance with a detailed management plan and submit annual reports etc.

 Does the smallholding have any existing buildings or dwelling?

rolls1392

The land concerned is currently being used to keep our 3 horses on.
There is a small barn there,that has been purpose built with three stables etc.
Has mains electricity and water.
Would like to build a log cabin in one of the fields. Pipe dream?

VimFuego

not a pipe dream at all, I know people who have done it, but it will be a struggle sadly. The barn may be your way in though, I know several people who got PP to convert a barn to a dwelling. It was a loophole for farmers to make it easier for them to get PP, they've tightened up on it a bit recently, but my understanding it that it is easier to get PP to convert a barn than it is to get it for a new build.

MagicPigDetective

In England there are permitted development rights to convert agricultural buildings to dwellings. I'm not familiar with them but it would be worth investigating. 

skunkwerx

howsa bout a caravan? 

Could he stay in that for a bit on his own land? 

VimFuego

nope, it's the use that's the issue not the building. 
Without residential PP you can only stay for 28 days in any year (I think it's 28, it's in that region). I've known folks who lived in benders who got kicked off their own land.