Alternative to Planning Permission?

[bibacux2001]

My house backs directly onto farmland as I only have a small garden I made enquiries into purchasing land to extend garden an possibly extend house. The land is grade 2 land in a greenbelt are so my prospects look bleak. I have heard that building attatched agricultural buildings do not need planning permission therfore if I did buy the land and build an extension as a piggery then gave up the idea of keeping pigs then the extension would have no other use. I realise that this notion may be fanciful but I am aware that loopholes exist. Can anyone give any advice on them or ways by which you can mitigate reasons for wanting land etc. thankyou for any help

[Maudlettice]

You do not need planning permission to turn a strip of land into a domestic garden. With regard to extending your house, you will not be refused PP to extend by up to 50% of the existing volume. Different areas have different ways of expressing this policy, so check with your planning dept. If your house has been extended since 1968, you will have to deduct the extensions from the 50%. I would forget the clever stuff if I were you, it will all end in tears.

[sddsddean]

We are having this exact argument at the moment with our local council. There is a 3m planting strip behind our house, then a public footpath, then fields. We are trying to buy the land to extend our gardens, but a solicitor friend told us to check with the council regarding change of use. The council have said that planning permission would be needed to change from agricultural(as it is an ex field) to garden use, and that as the area is a planting area to provide a 'buffer' between the village and the countryside, we probably would not get permission.

[Maudlettice]

In this area incorporating a strip of land from a field into a garden does not require PP. It happens a lot. I understand a buffer strip situation, and you will have to ascertain this from the planning office. A buffer strip can be divided between many freeholders, it just means that you cannot fence it off or plant over it, although over a period of time most freeholders forget about the planting and as long as the footpath is open most councils look the other way. If it is classed as a buffer, the freehold can usually be purchased for peanuts. Its advantage to an individual freeholder is that it makes the plot larger if you go for an extension.