Polytunnel Safety

countrylife

I live in the country and a large farming company (a multi million pound one) is putting 50 acres of them in the field next to our houses (6).

We are worried about flooding as fields run uphill from our homes...we sit in a dip.

We are worried about the effect of wind on our homes as the field sits on a high, exposed, coastal, very windy location and the ends of the tunnels are metres from our houses.

One neighbour here has the height of the tunnel above his roof line.

We are worried about noise from these industrial tunnels. We are worried about what happens if the regular 80mph winds (we get gusts of 100mph) damage or uproot a tunnel and strike it against us or our houses or vehicles.

These tunnels kill our view 95%, but that apart, the influx of the harvesting crews will kill off our privacy.

We are preparing planning objections to this and appreciate any input so we can persuade the "farmer" to move this operation to one of the other many fields in the adjacent area. This field is the only one who have any properties affected by the erection of polytunnels, so it is`nt a matter of detriment to the farming companies finances if they move.

All in all we are very worried that the knock on effect of this will cost us money as it will damage our septic tank for the 6 houses, as nothing would be able to soakaway in the event of the frequent heavy rain we get, and how that would run off 50 acres of polythene and run towards our houses!

Any advice or experience is appreciated.

oldandhappy

horrendous situation reading your post. We lived in an area that was on side of hill but our property was lower on all sides and the water collection when it rain was horrendous...because it sloped the lower properties that where built 3 years ago got all of it from ours and down the hill also....they where built on stilts because of the water issue.....yours have not been built to sustain any of what will be happening so close to you so you need to consult with the planning asap...

TheGardener

From a pragmatic point of view - it seems unlikely any business would deliberately place their key assets/investment in a place where it was highly likely they would be damaged or casue 3rd party damage by the weather, particularly when there are alternative sites available. That just wouldn't make any business sense.
Then the water - another business decision would be - why pay for commercial amounts of mains water when you can harvest it for free? All tunnels I've worked with have rainwater harvest and filter systems built in - we collected every drop! Its also worth noting that the amount of rain that fell on the tunnels would be no more than the rain that fell on the empty field. Noise, however, is a possibility - usually from pumps (pumping said rainwater) and staff and vehicles.
I would talk to planning and see what if any planning permission is in place (but it could be agricultural permitted development) Were you given any warning this was going to happen?

countrylife

TheGardener wrote: »

From a pragmatic point of view - it seems unlikely any business would deliberately place their key assets/investment in a place where it was highly likely they would be damaged or casue 3rd party damage by the weather, particularly when there are alternative sites available. That just wouldn't make any business sense.

Business or common sense, or lack of for that matter is a known factor with this company. They have been known to spend tens of thousands of pounds fighting similar operations, then just walking away with a shrug of their shoulders when they dont win. Their attitude is, if you dont like it, take it to court.

Then the water - another business decision would be - why pay for commercial amounts of mains water when you can harvest it for free?

They dont pay for water as there are numerous wells from their private supply at every field. The field has its own irrigation system connected to these wells./I]

All tunnels I've worked with have rainwater harvest and filter systems built in - we collected every drop! Its also worth noting that the amount of rain that fell on the tunnels would be no more than the rain that fell on the empty field.

There are gaps of less than a metre between the polytunnels, which are 4m high. The field is approximately 98% covered in polythene and any rain run off would flow down these narrow channels, directly downhill to us. I estimate approximately 20 acres of polythene cover the area that would flow directly towards us.

Noise, however, is a possibility - usually from pumps (pumping said rainwater) and staff and vehicles.

Is there any noise from polytunels in say, 80mph winds, which are a frequent feature here...and higher?

I would talk to planning and see what if any planning permission is in place (but it could be agricultural permitted development) Were you given any warning this was going to happen?

No planning permission is in place. I reported the matter to planning when they were preparing the field. Planning told them to stop and decided they needed permission. The company have refused to stop, so I presume they are preparing an application for permission, hence my post here to seek some advice and feedback from others who are/were in the same boat, with a view to putting forward proper objections.

Davesnave

Try reading through documents from councils, like Herefordshire, where this is a live issue. See what grounds are best suited to objection.

https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/supplementary-planning-documents/polytunnels-supplementary-planning-document

Also, see if you can get help from these guys:

http://www.cpreherefordshire.org.uk/issues/polytunnels.aspx


The fact that the business has riden roughshod over planning might mean they are sympathetic, but who knows?

countrylife

Thanks Dave...on it !

We already have the Herefordshire case details and have passed them onto Planning. I suspect that they took this into consideration when they told the company they required to apply for planning permission.

Thank you for the other contact link...that will be really helpful.:T