Seasonal workers dwelling - twin mobile home....

[timbernut]

Ah, thanks. According to the current legislation the maximum internal floor to ceiling height is 305cm.

 

 

 

That's an interesting way of doing it.... in a T shape.

 

Bit confused!....How was it constructed into two halves?

 

cheers, steve

 

 

It's joined where the two sections meet! The section furtherest away in the photo has a small section of roof built on who's gable butts up against the gable of the other section, four bolts do the lot with 32 amp plugs/sockets for leccy. I've put central hating in and put a join in pipe work underside. This pic might better explain join:

[SteveA]

If there are cross walls inside, an option for a low pitch roof might be to use these to support oak purlins running along the length which could be left exposed. But I can see that trusses might be the style you're after.

 

Andrew

 

Nice idea....thats a possibility too. cheers, steve

 

This is ours, got it second hand and moved it/moved in 4 weeks ago. It needs a new bit of cladding on the front but we are getting there![ATTACH]203779[/ATTACH][ATTACH]203780[/ATTACH]

 

Excellent! How wide is yours and how are the two halves held together?.... chunky bolts or something else?

cheers, steve

 

With these types of arrangements- is it a way of getting a dwelling on a site than is too small to go down the agricultural occupancy route?

 

As a residence I think you'd be looking at Permitted Development rights.... but I think that might limit using it for a residence at 28 days per year.

 

Apart from that I think you'd be looking at a full planning application (for residence).

 

I believe you can have one as a storage/ garden shed/ office type room for the whole year for non-residential purposes (under Permitted development).

You may need to apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness?

 

I'm not totally clued up on all of that though so best to look at the legislation or chat with the planners.

 

Cheers, steve

[SteveA]

It's joined where the two sections meet! The section furtherest away in the photo has a small section of roof built on who's gable butts up against the gable of the other section, four bolts do the lot with 32 amp plugs/sockets for leccy. I've put central hating in and put a join in pipe work underside. This pic might better explain join:[ATTACH]203786[/ATTACH]

 

Not sure my brain has the capacity to cope with designing gables!.... too many weird angles does my nut in.

 

Part of me can see the appeal in going for a flat roof design.... still using an internal oak frame. The bonus with that would be the extra space created for storage.

 

cheers, Steve

[richy_B]

I'm far from an expert but I had look at some literature and it suggested you could get planning for a built house/ag conversion if you had an occupational need to be on the land.

 

To prove that, the land needed to be of a size that could provide an average income, you derived your main income from it, you couldn't necessary afford to live locally, your occupation required you to be there for the majority of the working day and week and a few other conditions.

[RichieR]

Have you worked out the cost Of the build Steve ? Maybe purchasing a twin unit may work out cheaper

[SteveA]

I'm far from an expert but I had look at some literature and it suggested you could get planning for a built house/ag conversion if you had an occupational need to be on the land.

 

To prove that, the land needed to be of a size that could provide an average income, you derived your main income from it, you couldn't necessary afford to live locally, your occupation required you to be there for the majority of the working day and week and a few other conditions.

 

There is no longer a formal requirement in the planning framework to prove income (they dropped it). However, locally you may need to prove the necessity to be living on site.... which no doubt involves going into the financial aspects!

 

Councils don't tend to link up to planning legislation very well and are (mostly) likely to refuse everything they think they can get away with. This scares a lot of people off who don't understand their own rights (via legislation)..... one example for us was to go to appeal to prove our Permitted Development rights to build a barn (in National Park).... and then for a polytunnel. Both permissions were granted at appeal.

 

Diving straight into a full planning application for a relatively new business (like ours) is highly likely to be refused at a local planning level and very difficult to prove to the Planning Inspectorate (ie, at appeal).

 

A seasonal workers accomodation gives breathing space to build business.... making it easier to prove a full planning requirement in the future ( in three or five years, or whatever).

 

cheers, steve

[SteveA]

Have you worked out the cost Of the build Steve ? Maybe purchasing a twin unit may work out cheaper

 

I've not got that far yet. Here's a few thoughts on pricing:

 

- We have all the oak we need and can hire in a mobile saw mill at about £350 per day. I reckon on two days of milling should produce enough timber.

- I can do the groundworks myself using high density concrete blocks.

- Insulation can be very expensive from the builders merchants or free via Freecycle, or cheap via used/ reclaimed sheets.

- It won't be a zinc roof! Maybe a green roof, or steel sheets, or hand cleft shingles, or rubber tiles???

- I love recycling stuff so that will definitely happen.

- Would like to have a good quality log burner and maybe a wood fired Rayburn?

 

Thoughts on purchasing a ready made unit:

 

I've looked at the twin statics as seen on a lot of caravan park sites but they are flimsy and not particularly well insulated.... easy enough to pick one up for below £10k

 

Used timber twin units are less common and tend to go for more money.

 

Buying a new high quality twin unit could range from £40k for a small one to £180k for a big one (20m length X 6.8m width).

 

Cheers, steve

[timbernut]

Took me nearly 14yrs to win the right to live in the woods, that's just to stay not to build and I'm not sure if I'd go through it all again!😔 Nearly everything in planning law seems to be down to your LPA's own interpretation of the national planning guidance which can vary wildly!

[SteveA]

Took me nearly 14yrs to win the right to live in the woods, that's just to stay not to build and I'm not sure if I'd go through it all again!😔 Nearly everything in planning law seems to be down to your LPA's own interpretation of the national planning guidance which can vary wildly!

 

oh I have no doubt a can of worms will be opened!.... but we know our rights & our business potential. + life is short so best to dig in and get on with things.

cheers, steve

[richy_B]

It is something I have been thinking about but I think you need to have your 'ducks in a row' before you go down that route. When you mention trading history, what do you consider young? I am hoping 5 years of accounts would see you well in this scenario.