Neighbours have applied to turn farm land (field) into a campsite

Section62

Soot2006 said:

...so she sold to a developer and now they're building 49 "luxury houses" ... fml, guess we know who is able to influence the planning department and who isn't!

That has more to do with society (generally) being far more interested in building "more homes!" than it is in enabling small and medium sized farms to be operated at a profit level sufficient to support a family.

It isn't about 'influence' on the planning department, rather the policy framework that planning decisions are made within.  The Government (through the planning inspectorate) want "more homes!".

Spreadsheetman

Counting on a view in the country is pretty risky if you don't own it. I'm currently buying a village property that is very quiet, but all the land surrounding the house is already developed so I know what I am getting.

Two other properties that I looked at had much better views, but both had land that I couldn't be sure wouldn't get change of use to make my property harder to sell (a very large paddock/garden that had obvious separate access road potential for one, the other had a large pheasant farm one field away, but the farmer owned the adjacent meadow too).

MysteryMe

Considering the OP does not even know what they are objecting too, I'm not sure why some are getting on their high horse at the lack of helpful responses.  The OP needs to find out exactly what the planning application is for and revert.  Then. if there are valid reasons to object (and it's already been established objecting to losing a view over someone else's land is not one) people can put forward relevant suggestions.  

Bigphil1474

OP, I review planning applications as part of my job. They are referred to us from our planning department to consider potential nuisance issues - noise, light etc. They also get referred to Highways to consider any road issues, and other departments etc.
First thing I look for is what activities are proposed and when will they take place. If they are activities that will generate noise such as a music festival, then in some areas I might just object outright, in other areas they may be permitted but with time limitations on, and other conditions.
You have a right to enjoy your property without being affected by nuisance either from a commercial or domestic source. Much easier if it is coming from a commercial source. Nuisance isn't simply what some people find annoying, it's based on what a reasonable person would find unacceptable.
The first thing is to find out what is proposed. If you're happy with it, then fine. If not, you need to be able to articulate what you aren't happy with. There are only usually 3 outcomes -
Planning Permission is approved in line with their submission
PP is not given
PP is given with conditions.
If there are no grounds for you to successfully argue they should refuse permission, your next best bet is to consider how it will impact you and identify what you would want to be in place to prevent that impact. So in a large field, you might want to suggest that if PP is given, that there is an exclusion zone of x metres from the nearest domestic dwelling. That may permit the development, but make sure it is well away from your house. If they plan on having events in the summer, you might want to argue that they only permit acoustic music played inside a temporary structure and it finishes by 10pm etc.
The planning panel have a lot to consider, but in my experience their normal position is to approve unless there are good reasons not to - mainly because if they refuse and it goes to appeal, the council will be liable for costs if the applicant wins on appeal. That's really why big companies get to do all sorts, and individuals tend to fair less well.
As others have said, bear in mind that not all of the locals will be against it. We had a big campaign where I live against a wind farm, but I was all for it. It went ahead anyway, and has zero negative impact on the area.
I would add that it is worth speaking to the people who are applying. It will inform you as to what is proposed, which you might not find that objectionable, but it also might give you an opportunity to influence their plans if you can give them an idea what you would be ok with, and what you wouldn't.

Section62

hangryconsumer said:

Bigphil1474 said:

They also get referred to Highways to consider any road issues, and other departments etc.

This is interesting. Neighbour near me had planning, approved on basis of not affecting parking of local roads. They converted the garage, so only driveway parking after conversion. Planning only considered driveway parking, not interior garage parking, so the result is that the approved application means that family regularly clog up the street parking inconsiderately, although not illegally. Why didn't the planning department consider that? Family has 2 personal vehicles plus 1 business vehicle and the 4th driveway space never gets used, any additional visitors to the property park on the road which is a partial obstruction to neighbouring properties trying to access the highway.

Planners don't take into account the number of cars a family actually have, and how they choose to park them.

Most authorities will have a parking standard, which relates the number of spaces required (in a particular set of circumstances) to the number of bedrooms in the property.

If the property in your example has (say) four bedrooms, and the parking standard is (say) three spaces for a 4-bed house, then all that matters is whether or not three (adequate) spaces are available within the curtilage of the property - if the driveway meets that requirement then the garage can be ignored (and converted).

Then if the family want to park all three cars on the road and keep the driveway clear they are entitled to do that, unless on-street parking is restricted by a CPZ and the council limits numbers of permits.

woolly_wombat

The first thing to do is to read, digest and thoroughly understand the planning application.

The second thing to do is to try and stay calm, easier said than done as I know all too well.

Understand what you are up against, e.g. have a look at ‘Campsite Planning Permission: A Quick Beginner’s Guide’:

https://smallholdingsforsale.co.uk/campsite-planning-permission

Martin Goodall’s Planning Law Blog is also excellent, although a quick glance highlights nothing specific re campsites:

http://planninglawblog.blogspot.com/

You have my sympathies OP.

We had a new house built behind us a few years ago, to which I unsuccessfully objected. The owner, an architect, demolished one house and built two absolutely hideous new ones. He and his wife went around the neighbourhood sweet talking the sixteen or so other properties alongside the (large) plot and promising something much better than what was there before. Sadly the other neighbours did not examine the planning proposals in detail and one eyesore was replaced with two new houses that are totally out of keeping with surrounding properties.

Fortunately it has not turned out as badly as feared for us, as one of the new houses is low rise, but I have subsequently been amused by endless whingeing from those who are not happy at all with the end result, despite having supported the application(s) at the time!

In short, inform yourself and pay very close attention to Bigphil1474’s extremely helpful post above with regard to very specific objections. 

From my experience I would add get ahead of the game  and get any reasonable objections in place before others pile in with supporting comments without looking in detail at the proposals!