New Neighbours...

[OverWyreGrower]

I met our new neighbours yesterday.
There has been considerable to-ing and fro-ing at next door, which is a new build, but has been up for sale for about 18 months (detached 4 bed house with approx 2 acres of un-usable land)

They have had scores of workmen on the place, joiners, electricians, some guys looking at the fields etc.

The couple moving in are from Yorkshire, and want somewhere they can keep their horses at home, as opposed to a livery yard.

Only problem is, the land as is, is not currently suitable for anything but rabbits. It's couch-grass-tastic, filled with potholes and piles of rubble grown over with grass.

I was nice to the man, but very wary about his plans for the land until I've seen something "official" from the council.

You see, he wants to spray the whole 2 acres with RoundUp, plough it and re-seed it; but he also wants to build a floodlit sand-paddock at the bottom of our garden, and stables and a double garage at the side of our garden.

There go our views to the Lake District hills!
I can't wait to get the letter from the council about planning permission...

Maybe I should bake them a cake for when they move in next week?

[OverWyreGrower]

Yes, we're green belt with a 6 year ban on building new properties unless they're in-fill sites.

But since the land is "agricultural" (I think) they can keep horses, as lots of our neighbours do. I can't believe they're going to weed-kill everything (even if it is couch-grass!). They're even talking about chopping 4 or 5 large trees down, to get more acreage.

I've spoken to the council in a round-about way, and they've said even a non-lit sand paddock requires planning permission, so at least we'll get to see the plans etc. I'm not sure if it will make a difference if we object, but we will anyway.

[OverWyreGrower]

Ooh, good idea LJ... will defintely mention that to Mr OWG!

We don't want to fall out with the new neighbours over this, but I think it may not be pleasant.

[Nicos]

You really need about 2 acres of land per horse, plus the space for the arena and stables and muckheap.
Do they really intend to graze a couple of horses there??
At our last livery yard the neighbours objected to the outdoor school, but they got planning permission anyway, although there was a time retriction in the evening for the use of the floodlighting.
They can put up wooden stables without permission.
May not be as bad as you fear OWG-
If you can chat to them ,they may be prepared to adapt their plans in your favour. I'm sure they won't want to upset you intentionally.
Good luck!

[OverWyreGrower]

Yes, they have 2 horses but only just 2 acres.

They'll be starting from scratch, so will need to build stables, hard-standing, arena, plus any other out-buildings they want (e.g. garages).

In the past, the council have been fairly strict about stables etc. One neighbour was told he couldn't build wooden stables, they had to be the same brick as his garage and house to blend in, and couldn't be any further than X metres away from his house.

I'm hoping that when they move in, we can talk properly and get our point across without formally having to object when the planning permission comes in.

[carlseawolf]

find out which gov department is incharge of green fields or other charities / protest groups that stop motorways been built , maybe there is scientific angle with rare animals that stops them spraying or destroying the natural habitat ( local rspb should set you right on the birds ) it won't stop the horses but might stop them building an outside ring and spoiling your view.

[sanman]

For all planning info try http://www.planningportal.gov.uk. If the land is greenbelt then the application would probably be contrary to PPG2. As for the land being tied to agricultural use I believe that this doesn't include horses.

[johnty greentoes]

Resist.

Why can't they use livery?

Pathetic.

[OverWyreGrower]

Because it's nice to have your horse close and be able to ride/muck out etc without driving miles away?

I suppose a lot of people who want to "escape to the country" dream of having their own horses on their own land...

It's not the horses I mind though, its more the blocking my lovely coastal view with stables and floodlights...

[muckdiva]

I think you are right to try and keep it friendly OWG. If they have any sense they will appreciate your point of view, but if they have gone as far as moving house to keep their neddies at home, they will probably be fairly determined to get what they want, so I'd try and find some common ground (forgive the pun) so that you can bargain on positioning of buildings etc, without you ending up having a huge fall out.

Keeping horses at livery can be a nightmare, Jonty, so I have sympathy with anyone who wants to keep their horse closer. (I have stables at home, but no paddock, and as we are in a conservation area, the planning restrictions are incredibly strict).

If you have scenic views OWG, I shouldn't imagine they can just come in and put their stables up willy nilly without lots of consultation with planners and those affected by building work.

For what it's worth, there are much easier ways to improve grazing pasure than ploughing and reseeding which takes ages to establish. Horses also thrive on a good variety of herbage - provided poisonous plants such as ragwort etc are removed - which would be destroyed by the roundup/plough approach. For instance, there's a process called rapid-reseeding which sows in slits in the ground without the need to plough, and specific 'horse friendly' herbicides which act only on weeds dangerous to equines rather than killing everything.

Good luck OWG, hope it all works out well for you.

[Protea]

I'm not sure why the floodlights will be a problem from the view side of things? they'll only be on when its dark surely, and i would imagine only for an hour or two at most?

To be honest its quite difficult to get planning permission for floodlighting so i wouldn't worry too much. As to objecting to the stables on grounds of 'view spoilt' i'm faily sure that this isn't taken into account - nor is any devaluation of your own property as a result of any development (but don't quote me on it!). If they've only got 2 horses it will only be a small block and can easily be made inkeeping with the surroundings - i'm sure you could persuade them to site them sensitively (after all - i'm sure they wouldn't want to spoil their own coastal views with their stables).

I dreamt of having my horse at home when i was younger, but we didn't have the land, i kept it at a yard and not only is it expensive there are other factors to consider - other people for a start !

hope you get something sorted out that suits you all

[smallblueplanet]

Ring up the local council and get tree preservation orders put on the trees, tell them they're under threat and are part of your environment - your neighbours will love you for it!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi OWG
Sorry to hear your concerns re your new neighbours. If they get planning for a paddock then surely your latest "plot" addition would be OK?
Do let us know how you get on.
Thinking about you.
Bernie aka Dexterdog
PS Dexter says he can always come down and with Max will tell the neighbours what the score is!

[Nicos]

Just had a wicked idea!!!
You could put up 'bird scarers' - flappy/blowy/reflective/ noisy stuff to keep your crops safe!!
They might think twice about riding so close to something like that ( unless they are retired police horses!!!)
Might backfire though, and they put up the stables there instead!!!

[OverWyreGrower]

I'm not sure why the floodlights will be a problem from the view side of things? they'll only be on when its dark surely, and i would imagine only for an hour or two at most?

They'll mainly be a problem as they'd shine straight through the garden into our house (long straight garden). Plus any light at the stables (which would be next to our garden would also impact us.

Where we live has hardly any street lights etc, and once it goes dark, it is properly dark, with no sodium-vapour orange lighting anything up.

We often go and sit in the garden in the dark and look at the stars and listen for owls etc.

To be honest, it's partly the privacy thing. If someone is riding in the evening, or at the stable block, they would have a prime view onto our allotment space, our greenhouse and the majority of our garden and on clear evenings, our house. It's not that we dance around naked or anything, but it would take away a lot of our outdoor privacy.