Payment for not using farm land and keeping wildlife friendly & organic

Debt_Free_Chick

luca_duca wrote:

yes i agree they were ignorant about land use law...something which we have all told them but they are now trying to get it right. but the feeling is thats it you've made one mistake...no more chances...it isn't putting the unfriendly villagers in a very good light either...where is the community in that attitude?

It's not the case that making a mistake puts you at a disadvantage. Once the Planning Application is made, it must be treated as though the breach never occurred in the first place. You get no "points deducted" or "black marks" for making a planning application to correct a previous breach.

And I hope you've seen my reply on the other thread - the neighbours' objections will be listened to, but unless the objections relate to the planning regulations, they won't carry any weight e.g. if the objection is on the grounds of noise, that can be dealt with soundproofing (as you have already commented).

It will take a while to fit in. I suspect that villagers have been speculating about what your SIL "has been up to", drawn their own (incorrect) conclusions and are now gloating that "they've won". This is just human nature, I think - it would happen in towns too (and it has done) if there were a similar situation.

We had a situation recently, where someone wanted to buy some agricultural land and develop it for woodland, ponds etc to provide a natural area for education and recreation. There was a right gossip amongst some about "what they are really after". In the proposals, which were brought to the Parish Council and sent to all properties bordering the land, there was mention of a bio-deisel fuels . Well ...... the little coven of village witches started telling everyone that this meant that raw cattle sewage would be brought through the village!!! LOL! Bio-deisel is made from crops, not slurry. Anyway, these same people have their septic tanks drained annually, but have no complaints about their own !!!!!! being transported through the village! :mad:

Try to remain calm and friendly. Try to make friends, but expect people to be a little (or a lot!) frosty for a while.

Re going to Church ... no need to be religious, but it can often be a "community centre" if it's not the centre of the community. We have no village shop so if you want to know what's going on, you have to go to the village pub for half the gossip and the village Church for other half :rotfl:

Definitely consider attending the Parish Council meeting when your application is discussed. Firstly, you can explain in person about why you had the enforcement notice and show that you genuinely did not know. Secondly, you can deal with any objections from local residents .... who are bound to attend! It might sound nerve-racking, but it's not as bad as it seems and you might even get some of those who are currently "against you" to change their minds, once they see you in person and realise that you're not about to concrete over the countryside!

HTH

islandannie

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Calm down - it's not a competition

The OP admits that she doesn't know what the neighbours are complaining about. However, someone has obviously told the LPA about the unlawful development on the farm. Concidence?

The OP then refers to the neighbours as "snotty". My post was a genuine attempt to suggest how they might get onto more friendly terms with their neighbours and other locals, having got off on the wrong foot.

In the other thread, the OP suggested that that at least one of the neighbours was initially friendly, so it could be that they have been welcomed. We simply don't know. But referring to neighbours as "snotty" is hardly going to endear anyone to their new neighbours, no matter where they live.

As an admitted Townie who moved to a Rural location I would expect you could at the very least learn about ,Set Aside,Proper land use ,Subsidised Land Use,and the special rules pertaining to SSSI,before spouting ill informed rubbish about the farming community.

luca_duca

woo calm down everyone!! I want to thank you all for helping me with this one. I have learnt a lot very quickly as you have given me honest, personal and objective opinions which is what I needed as we really do want to get it right. I can see there is some real passion about this subject and I appreciate all the information you have taken the time to give me. I will let you know how we get on