Agricultural Occupancy condition

[treequip]

Much will depend on the classification of the land, I doubt it will be anything other than domestic which will allow planning to put the mockers on anything non domestic.

[RichardT]

I'd echo the last comment, fulfilling the occupancy requirement does not mean you can turn the back garden into a working yard, I'd talk to the planners first.

[agg221]

You may be able to subdivide the site, from a planning/use point of view. We've looked at this for Mum's place, which is a domestically occupied agricultural holding. From a land registry point of view it's pretty simple, and it might allow you to own the house on a conventional (cheaper) mortgage and own the back part of the land outright and secure use of the site for business purposes through the correct planning procedure.

 

You can easily re-merge sites from the point of view of ownership but getting change of use may be harder, so it may impact the resale value, but an estate agent can tell you this (this is how we checked what to do with Mum's).

 

Alec

[oldoaktree]

If you are spending a lot of money on the property then may be a meeting with a local land agent might be a good idea they should be able to advise you on what the regs are . Could be money well spent .

[Rick2517]

all good advice.

I think I'm definitely in the stronger position to make pushy demands to the seller/estate agent as I would imagine they will be struggling to find a buyer that can fit the bill! I think I will contact the agent and be up front with them, tell them what my intentions for use are and let them to the donkey work, if they can come up with the relevant information to prove that I can use the site for commercial use then we will then talk further!!

[Dan Earp]

i maybe completly wrong but couldnt you start up an animal charity. a bloke i worked for a while back lived and ran his business and had his wife run the charity ( ducks rabbits etc) sold logs and chip and lived next to a farmer. Basiclly she had resuced animals and sold them on with huts straw feed etc. just an idea

[gensetsteve]

I have been in a similar situation and have done some research this is only what I have found out and heard and not always from official sources. Be careful how you run the mortgage through your business as it may incur capital gains tax if you sell later. Processing of timber not grown on the property is classed as industrial and can attract business rates. If you contact the local planners for advice you will attract attention. If you dont upset the neighbours generally you will be left to do your thing. But a quick way to upset people is 20 hrs a week of chainsaws running. If you are going to run machinery try and pick somewhere remote or near a dual carriage way ( back ground noise )

[Rick2517]

I know what your mean about the noise, we will have to tread very carefully with the locals, the bonus is that all local residents are burning wood so could be paid off with a few bags of logs!!!

attached is a pic of the property, proposed yard space(access track will need to be put in on east side of house)

that working farm next door, and the farmer log pile (mostly stocked by us) he is out at least once a week processing so can't see there will be much of a problem with him!

[Marko]

all good advice.

I think I'm definitely in the stronger position to make pushy demands to the seller/estate agent as I would imagine they will be struggling to find a buyer that can fit the bill! I think I will contact the agent and be up front with them, tell them what my intentions for use are and let them to the donkey work, if they can come up with the relevant information to prove that I can use the site for commercial use then we will then talk further!!

 

Please don't assume that it puts a buyer in a strong position.... struggling to find a buyer may well be the seller's trump card as if it turns out no one can afford to buy and comply they will have good cause and evidence to appeal the AgOc with the local authority. The seller is far better placed to have the condition removed and as the property would then go up in value 25-30% overnight it is most definitely worth the hassle and the wait.

 

Price reduction held sufficient to remove farm tie: The council accepted that there was no realistic prospect of an agricultural use being re-established on the site and that an adequate marketing exercise had been carried out. However, it argued that the 30% discount at which the dwelling had been offered was insufficient to reflect the condition, maintaining that a discount of up to 50% might have been appropriate. The appellant argued that 30% is a commonly used discount on properties with an agricultural tie. The inspector argued that the council had produced little evidence to substantiate its case for a bigger discount…

[grahamc]

Regarding planning permission for selling logs. It is a situation we have just gone through. We bought an ex council farm 4 years ago, ie a farmhouse, about 15 000 square feet of buildings and 8 acres. I have run my tree surgery business since 1986 and sold logs since then from my previous yard about 4 miles away. Following a call to the local council from a neighbour, we had a visit from the planning enforcement officer who established that we needed B2 and B8 industrial for our firewood business, one being necessary to cut the logs up, the other to store the firewood prior to selling. It has taken us about 7 months to gain the planning, and we now pay business rates on our buildings. The acid test was do we bring the timber in from ground we dont own to process and sell. The answer to 99 % of the people who sell logs is yes. Most of the firewood sellers in the land would need planning permission to carry out there business if inspected by there local planning authority. Just because the neighbouring farmer already cuts up logs is not an indication that he does not need planning. My gut feel would be that the property is only big enough to live in, not carry out the business from.