Topic: Plannining permission for new allotment site

[Oaksey]

Does anyone know if planning permission is needed for a new allotment site? - cheers!

[ChrisBro]

Thasa a good question, I should imagine you would need some kind of consent all be it a change of use for the land maybe. There is some interesting info here:

http://community.rivercottage.net/users/jojodud/forums/the-road-to-river-cottage/viewtopic/topic_id:20079

and here:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/allotment-finder/planning-permission_29727.html

These are purely other peoples experience though your best course of action would be the local council I should think simply ask them, maybe be better to ask to speak to whoever deals with allotments and then ask them rather than planning, planning services knowledge seems to be a bit sketch in the allotment area

Hope that helps

:)

[Unwashed]

I understand the situation in England is this:  1. agriculture is not development, so there's never a need for planning permission to use any piece of land for agriculture whatever its current use.  2.  Allotments count as agriculture.

So that means you don't need planning permission to use a site for allotments.

But I'm not 100% sure that either of my points is right so let me see if I can dig up the legislation.  I've got a funny feeling that allotments aren't actually agriculture because agriculture is for profit, and allotments aren't.

At the end of the day it depends on what your local planners say.  It's free to ask them for a non-binding opinion.

[Unwashed]

My completely unqualified opinion is no, you don't need planning permission to create an allotment.  S55.(2).e Town and Country Planning Act 1990 lets you use any land for agriculture and Crowborough Parish Council v. Secretary of State for the Environment [1981] established that agriculture here includes allotments.

The thing about profit is to do with permitted development rights.

[Larkshall]

The only problem I can see, is if the land is already developed (status), using it for an allotment/s might nullify that status and any future development would have to pay for development again.

[plot51A]

Mr Plot51A is a planner. His answer was "probably"! A site being a number of plots presumably with access, sheds, parking etc. He says the allotments act is complicated but will look it up. I know I am biased, but it would be no use asking the allotments staff about this in our LA, you'd be much better off with a planner  ;D

Update: Planning permission definitely needed. It does count as change of use from agricultural land.

[Unwashed]

Update: Planning permission definitely needed. It does count as change of use from agricultural land.

Can you say why you think that?  See for example this advice from the National Association of Local Councils:

1.   The use of land, and of buildings occupied therewith, for agriculture is not development and does not therefore need specific planning permission (section 55(2)(e) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990).  ‘Agriculture’ includes the use of land for allotments (decided in Crowborough Parish Council v Secretary of State for the Environment and Wealden DC [1980] 43 P & CR 229).

[Salkeela]

I have just been in to our planning office and asked the same question.  The answer is YES.
DARD regard agricultural and horticultural land as the same thing - so as far as they are concerned it is not a change of land use.

BUT the planners think differently.  I want to let others use a portion of one of my fields for allotments (not for profit) but I must still apply for planning.  The fee here in Northern Ireland for this application is £660!
 :o

I am considering my options...... :-[

[ChrisBro]

This is an article I just found lifted directly from the nsalg.org.uk website, it may be better to contact them directly for clarification:

Farmland into Allotments ? Why Not ?


Towards the end of last year, Head Office received a considerable number of queries from farmers – from Scotland, as well as England & Wales – as to the possibility of their converting land not currently ‘under the plough’ into allotments.

Head Office was not at this time sure of the effect that any such conversion might have on the EU Single Payment Scheme (SPS) made to farmers for land not currently under cultivation (what used to be called “set aside”).  Inquiries were made of DEFRA, and the following information thus elicited.

First, there are no fewer than ten criteria which the farmer has to fulfil before SPS becomes payable.  In my home village of Malpas (Cheshire) there are former neighbours of ours, on both sides of the Border, who await payment for 2006 . . . DEFRA does not have a sparkling track record as regards payments to farmers.

It seems that SPS is payable on land of not less than 0.1 hectares, and not more than 0.3 hectares.  Our good old English acre – a measure of area brought to these Islands by the Germano-Scandinavian invaders fifteen hundred-odd years ago – equates to 0.4 hectares (or a hectare equates to 2.47 acres).  It would seem to follow from this that a farmer in receipt of SPS is in receipt of it for an area of land which is – at best – ¾ of one acre.

The standard plot in England & Wales is the 10 pole plot.   ‘Pole’, in this context, is an area of land which is one sixteenth of an acre.  10 poles equates to 300 square yards, of if preferred, 250 square metres. The terms ‘pole’, ‘rod’, ‘perch’ ;  in Yorkshire, the ‘pace’, and in parts of Lincolnshire, the ‘lug’, refer to a measure of land which is five and one half yards.  It is said to derive from the measure from the rear of the plough to the nose of the ox which pulled the plough.

Working on an optimum provision of 15 standard plots to the acre, it becomes apparent that if a farmer were to turn one acre of land over to allotments ; and charge the average rent for England & Wales of £25 per plot per year ; that farmer is going to receive more money in allotment rent than is payable in SPS.

Planning permission is not required for allotments, if the previous user of the land was agricultural user within the provisions of sections 55 subsection (2) paragraph (e)  and 336 Town and Country Planning Act 1990.



   Please see over


Should a farmer make inquiries about converting some farmland currently not under cultivation to allotments, this should be actively encouraged.  Any such provision would not absolve any municipal authority from the mandatory obligations of provision and letting which derive from the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908.

I still say speak to the allotment people at your council, there was another issue not long ago on here with a member having council trouble over a polytunnel, the planning department just proved when it comes to allotments they dont really have a clue, you local allotment man will be the best bet :)

[Old bird]

I reckon the only input that may cause trouble is the access into the allotments and so planning permissions may be needed - having said that - if all the allotmenteers were members of say "Winterland Allotments society" then there may be different issues and not be necessary if the "winterland allotments association" are the "tenants".

Be an interesting one!
I will watch this space.
Old Bird

[Unwashed]

I don't know why the NSALG keep embarrassing themselves like this.  OK, he goes:

1.  S55(2)(e) TCPA 1990 says that planning permission isn't required to use any land for agriculture.  It doesn't say allotments don't need planning permission on agricultural land.

2. S336 TCPA 1990 says that agriculture includes horticulture.  It doesn't say that horticulture includes allotments.

3. TCPA alone isn't enough to show that allotments never need planning permission.  You need the high court's decision that horticulture includes allotments (Crowborough Parish Council v Secretary of State for the Environment and Wealden DC [1980] 43 P & CR 229) and then it follows that allotments don't need planning permission whatever the previous use of the land.

4.  The advice from the NSALG about polytunnels is even more embarrassing.  They argue that erecting a polytunnel is permitted development by way of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 Part 6, except it only applies to commercial agriculture and that doesn't include allotments.

5. They also argue that S55(2)(e) TCPA 1990 allows the erection of polytunnels without permission, but it doesn't, it just allows you to use any building that's already there.

6. I think the planners mostly decide that polytunnels simply aren't development because they're small and temporary, and that's why sometimes big polytunnels do need planning permission because they're neither.

7. If they're going to ramble on aimlessly about poles and acres they should at least get it right - there are 160 poles to the acre.  And if they can't master spelling and grammar they just come over like idiots.

8. If all of that was to say that farmers could make more profit from allotments than from SPS then it's simple-minded in the extreme.  They don't say what SPS earns per acre so that doesn't help the comparison.  They assume £2.50/pole rent which is low, but they assume the farmer gets all of that in profit - so no administration, water, maintenance, capital investment, or vacant plots.


Plot51A - I'm very interested to see why a planner says planning is required for allotments.

Old Bird, interesting you mention the issue of access and movement because this is what the high court thought about.  The argument was that allotments generate a lot more movement of people and look substantially different to your average horticulture, but the court disagreed and decided that allotments were just another kind of horticulture and so planning wasn't required.