Does anyone know much about mobile horse shelters. I have one in an 11 acre field that has sat on the same spot for 7 years. Now a lady who is keen to put more horses in the field wants to put three more in the field, all against the neighbours garden fence. I think this will lead to trouble. Could a permanent stable be built where the temporary one has sat for 7 years. And what is the going rate for horse keep. regards Jim

 

I think the extra shelter would be asking for trouble. I doubt 7 years is long enough to just build a stable without PP. Best to speak to local planning offier for advice. Going rate for horses? Varies tremendously depending on facilities and area. If its just a field with a shelter and no electric or running water on tap then I would say its £5 to £10 a week per horse. I know thats a great variation but it does depend on location and demand and supply.BTW , I never have more than 1 horse per 2 acres [call it 1 hectare ] on my ground. Other wise it just gets trashed, and for one thing, its also unfair on the horse to keep it in what becomes slum conditions I think. In spring a smaller area is taped off with elec horse fencing to restrict grazing and prevent laminitis. This saves grazing and I usually manage to take a small hay crop from the rested paddocks [small conventional bales] which I can sell to the horse owner in winter.

If you can site a temporary structure such as your shelter on one place for 12 years you achieve "positive prescription" and could then put a permament structure on that precise plot. Your way forward is either to keep quiet (do not get local authority involved) and see if you achieve the 12, or to put in application for stable complex (may be refused) - on no account must you upset your neighbours - new mobile shelters would raise eyebrows. Bottom line is to check with solicitor or land agent or independent planning consultant.

Thankyou both for your advice, l have to admit when l stopped farming in the U.K 7 years ago there was no way l would let the horse and pony brigade hive of bits of my land with there wonky fences and electric tape but they do add alot of value if l sell in small lots. regards Jim

I may be wrong, but I think that craman's reference to positive prescription may be a red herring.  I think this applies to land ownership or usage (rights of way etc.) not to planning. 

I believe that no enforcement action can be taken by the local planning authority against unauthorised development if such action is not started within four years of the completion of the development.  The limit is ten years if the 'unauthorised' aspect is a breach of actual planning consent (eg. development larger than consent, or change of use not in accordance with permission etc.).

As far as your circumstances are concerned if your present stable were deemed to be a structure, it has already been there for four years so is safe.  I would guess you could build a permanent structure on the same footprint but that or any further development would still need planning consent or for nobody to report it for four more years. 

One potential problem is, however that mobile shelters and stables are marketed on the basis that they are portable and not fixed to the ground and therefore are not 'structures' and do not require planning permission.  Many councils have taken action against these 'mobile' shelters on the grounds that although not fixed to the ground, they are nevertheless classed as structures subject to planning control. 

In your shoes I would get some suitably rusty angle iron and bang a few bits into the ground and bolt them to the base structure of the shelter you could then claim that it wasn't mobile and was erected more than four years ago and therefore cannot be attacked.  If your horse lady wants to add more mobile stables at her own expense even if there were to be any come-back from the neighbours, the worst that could happen would be for those new stables to have to be removed.