Farming & Ancillary Accommodation
According to the General Permitted Development Order 1995, part 5 specific planning permission may not be required in the following circumstances:
v) The use of land (but not a building) as a caravan site in certain circumstances. These include:
use for stationing a single touring caravan for no more than two consecutive nights and for no more than twenty-eight days in a year;
use for stationing up to three caravans on a holding of at least 5 acres for no more than twenty-eight nights in a year;
use as a caravan site of land occupied by an exempted organisation (eg. Caravan Club), or use for not more than five caravans at a time of a site certified by an exempted organisation, or use as a caravan site for not more than five nights for a meeting organised by an exempted organisation for its members;
seasonal stationing of caravans as accommodation for agricultural or forestry workers, and;
use as a caravan site for travelling showmen whilst travelling (but not as winter quarters). In addition, a site licence under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 is not required in any of these circumstances.
The Planning Policy Statement 7 Annex A states the following with regards to temporary agricultural dwellings:
12. If a new dwelling is essential to support a new farming activity, whether on a newly-created agricultural unit or an established one, it should normally, for the first three years, be provided by a caravan, a wooden structure which can be easily dismantled, or other temporary accommodation. It should satisfy the following criteria:
(i) clear evidence of a firm intention and ability to develop the enterprise concerned (significant investment in new farm buildings is often a good indication of intentions);
(ii) functional need;
(iii) clear evidence that the proposed enterprise has been planned on a sound financial basis;
(iv) the functional need could not be fulfilled by another existing dwelling on the unit, or any other existing accommodation in the area which is suitable and available for occupation by the workers concerned; and
(v) other normal planning requirements, e.g. on siting and access, are satisfied.
13. If permission for temporary accommodation is granted, permission for a permanent dwelling should not subsequently be given unless the criteria in paragraph 3 above are met. The planning authority should make clear the period for which the temporary permission is granted, the fact that the temporary dwelling will have to be removed, and the requirements that will have to be met if a permanent permission is to be granted. Authorities should not normally grant successive extensions to a temporary permission over a period of more than three years, nor should they normally give temporary permissions in locations where they would not permit a permanent dwelling.
“A Farmer’s Guide to the Planning System” document includes a comprehensive guide to the planning process on various agricultural developments. This document has been produced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Crown copyright 2002.