'illegal' mock-Tudor castle he tried to hide behind 40ft hay bales

Davesnave

Realrewired wrote: »

The UK is huge though. If you have some land in the country and go ahead and build a place without planning, there`s very little chance of someone finding out in 4 years.

You do not need a grass roof, google/maps is great but no one studies every square mile of land for a building that wasn`t there.

Tosh.

Every bit of the UK is owned by someone, so unless you have so much money that it wouldn't matter, your piece of land is going to be relatively small & border other people's. They, and their parish council, will be keeping an eye on things.

There are a few 'marginal' places, notably in Wales, where people have succeeded in achieving a kind of legal residence. Here is one example, which doesn't seem to be selling. I'm not surprised, given the location in the bottom of a deep valley, which will be very grim in winter, and the likely nature of the soil etc. And, blimey, you could buy a real house for this asking price:

http://www.homesonview.co.uk/Scripts/FullDetails.aspx?CID=JNFSERON&AID=JNFSERON&PID=JTP04652

Poshbird

Davesnave wrote: »

Tosh.

Every bit of the UK is owned by someone, so unless you have so much money that it wouldn't matter, your piece of land is going to be relatively small & border other people's. They, and their parish council, will be keeping an eye on things.

There are a few 'marginal' places, notably in Wales, where people have succeeded in achieving a kind of legal residence. Here is one example, which doesn't seem to be selling. I'm not surprised, given the location in the bottom of a deep valley, which will be very grim in winter, and the likely nature of the soil etc. And, blimey, you could buy a real house for this asking price:

http://www.homesonview.co.uk/Scripts/FullDetails.aspx?CID=JNFSERON&AID=JNFSERON&PID=JTP04652

It seems a good buy for that asking price.

"Being served by its own water and electricity supply, the property is set within a small paddock with its mixed woodland raising to the side and is ideal for those seeking a lovely private setting without being isolated and within easy reach of the Georgian Harbour town of Aberaeron and the market town of Lampeter."

6 acres is a lot of land, near the coast. Whats the catch?

Davesnave

Poshbird wrote: »

It seems a good buy for that asking price.

"Being served by its own water and electricity supply, the property is set within a small paddock with its mixed woodland raising to the side and is ideal for those seeking a lovely private setting without being isolated and within easy reach of the Georgian Harbour town of Aberaeron and the market town of Lampeter."

6 acres is a lot of land, near the coast. Whats the catch?

You would have to go into the agent's site to get the aerial photo and then have the patience to find it and relate to the relevant OS map, but the property is in a deep valley, heavily shaded for much of the year, accessed by a rough track.

'Mixed woodland' sounds lovely, but when it's on a steep slope it's difficult to even get the wood for the fire (can't use tractor/trailer) and not ideal for pigs either. As for the valley bottom. it's likely to have soil/drainage issues. The present owners haven't done a lot with it, have they?

'Own water supply' means borehole, which is common. As for the electricity, that means generator!

I would rather have 1.5 acres of decent land in an open situation with a real electricity supply & a 'proper' house than 6 acres of poor quality land and a mobile-home type structure. If you look in the area, that's do-able for well under £200k. Something like this maybe:

http://thesmallholdingcentre.co.uk/Sunny%20View%205877/Sunny%20View%205877.html

The fact that the place I posted is languishing suggests most people think similarly.

Poshbird

Bohdy wrote: »

Is it possible to get something similar near to London?

If you could buy a bit of land in London what are the chances of getting permission for a eco house type building?

If Mr Fidler has indeed got away with the Tudor castle then it has profound implications.

There will always be some saying for years yet he hasnt yet got away with it. But they were also saying that years ago.

Well extending a house is now far easier, you do not need planning permission in many cases.

If you do a loft conversion or extend single story you can usually do without PP.

One chap had a big garden and has extended with strw bales. I do not know if he had to get planning, but it looks like he is going multi story. Maybe even 3 stories because looks like he is doing something in the loft.

I drive past every day, so very interesting to see what happens.

harryhound

But you still need building regulations approval and probably a "party wall" agreement if you build within feet of next door's land.
Current "green" standards means it is increasingly expensive and difficult to comply with the regulations and do most of the work yourself (like you could in the 1970's).

Working on a cramped site with difficult access and paying for next door's surveyor to keep an eye on what you are doing, pushes up costs. That said there will always be opportunities for those who can ferret out sites such as disused telephone exchanges and wangle planning permission on them.

Poshbird

In the future its looking likely that it will be easier to get planning permission for eco type homes than regular houses.

Even on Green belt etc.

geoffky

Has he not won yet..As nimbys are evil.

Poshbird

geoffky wrote: »

Has he not won yet..As nimbys are evil.

In 10 yrs time it will still be standing and people will be saying he has not won yet.........

Davesnave

geoffky wrote: »

Has he not won yet..As nimbys are evil.

I wonder what kind of neighbourhood you chose to live in.

Where I am, we keep an eye on things. It doesn't really matter if it's dog poo, sheep rustling or someone erecting a shed & living in it, (all items from the last year's Parish Council minutes) Never mind evil, if no one cares, the place will not be nice to live in.

Poshbird

MajorJohn wrote: »

Any idea the rules for temporary structures? Say My Fidler made the walls out of straw bales to begin with? Someone said if he kept the sraw bales there he could have got away with it, why did he take them down?

Yes in Wales there is that special kind of planning permission its called policy 52 or something. Been talked about on this thread before. http://www.lammas.org.uk/lowimpact/documents/AdoptedLowImpactSPG.pdf

You can even get permission on Green belt, as long as the building is low impact like an eco house. No concrete etc, you need tyres as foundation and straw bales or wood. It`s all got to be eco and renewable. I think that policy 52 in Wales also means you have to be 100% off grid that means you need a bore hole for water and lots of solar panels (you are allowed to used grid electric at night as long as you sell back more than you use in day time) its a great idea to encourage eco style homes.

I dont know if there is anything similar in England, does anyone else know?