Horses and Field Shelters
- What does agricultural land mean?
Section 336 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 defines agriculture as:
“horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, the breeding and keeping of livestock (any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land), the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes, and ‘agricultural’ shall be construed accordingly.”
- Can I graze my horse on a piece of agricultural land?
If you simply wish to use the land as grazing land, it will be agricultural use and planning permission will not be required, even if the horses are recreational horses. But, on a strict interpretation, the horses should only be on the land for the primary purpose of grazing.
- Can I add stables and other items associated with horse use to help with the grazing of my horses?
Although the grazing of horses on agricultural land does not require any planning permission, any physical development associated with horsiculture such as stables, food stores, jumps, menageries, vehicles hard standing would start to constitute a material change of use of the land and would require a planning application.
- Does a field shelter require planning permission?
Field shelters may not need planning permission, but this is dependent on size, construction, physical attachment to the ground no services are connected and its intended degree of permanence for example how often it is moved around within the site. It is better to seek assistance from the Local Planning Authority before placing them onto your land. Each case would be dealt with on a fact and degree basis.