Field Shelters, Stables and Polytunnels: Do They Need Planning Permission?

Field shelters, stables and polytunnels are small buildings, so many landowners assume they do not need planning permission. Some do not. Many do. The answer depends on what the structure is, how long it stays put, what it is used for and how much land you farm. Get it wrong and the council can ask for it to come down.

Field shelters and stables

Field shelters: mobile or fixed?

A field shelter on skids that is genuinely moved around the field may not count as a building at all. The council will look at its size, how permanent it is and whether it is fixed to the ground. A shelter that sits in one place on a concrete base, or is too big to move easily, is usually treated as a building.

If the shelter is for farm livestock on a holding of 5 hectares or more, it may fall under agricultural permitted development, with a 28 day prior notification to the council first.

Stables: horses are not always agriculture

Grazing horses on land can count as agriculture. Keeping horses for riding, stabling them and exercising them does not. That matters, because agricultural permitted development under Part 6 only covers buildings designed for agriculture and reasonably necessary for it.

So stables, tack rooms and riding arenas for leisure horses almost always need full planning permission, even on a working farm. The council will look at the size, design, access and the effect on the landscape.

Polytunnels

Polytunnels used for growing crops on a farm can fall under Part 6 Class A on holdings of 5 hectares or more, subject to the size, height and road distance limits and a prior notification. Larger schemes often need full planning, and some councils look closely at their effect on the landscape.

On holdings between 0.4 and 5 hectares, Class B allows extensions and alterations of existing buildings, not new buildings out in a field, so a new polytunnel will usually need full planning. Below 0.4 hectares there are no agricultural permitted development rights.

Practical implications for farm businesses

• Decide what the building is for before you buy it. Livestock, horses and crops each follow different rules.
• Measure your holding. The 5 hectare and 0.4 hectare thresholds decide which route is open to you. Our post on planning permission for a new barn under or over 12 acres explains how they work.
• Keep mobile shelters genuinely mobile, and move them.
• If a structure is already up without permission, act early. See our guide to planning permission on agricultural land.

Whether you are in Cheshire or Cornwall, the same national rules apply. Find out more about our farm planning consultants in Cheshire.

How Foxes Rural Can Help

We tell you plainly whether your shelter, stable or polytunnel needs planning, and which route fits. Then we prepare the notice or application and manage it with the council from start to finish. Call Foxes Rural on 01206 481981 or get in touch.