Q I’m living in a mobile home in a field, which hasn’t got planing permission, where I run an agricultural business. The council says I’ve got to apply for permission and submit an agricultural consultant’s report and then live in the mobile for three years. Is what the council telling me right? How long do I have to have lived in the mobile to be able to stay on the site?
A There are two different aspects to the timing in this case.
First, if you live on a site in a mobile home continuously for 10 years or more – and can prove that – you might be able to establish the right for the mobile to remain.
Second, when you apply for planning permission for an agricultural dwelling, where the business is a start-up or is fairly new, the council will usually grant temporary permission for a mobile to be stationed for three years. Such applications have to be supported by a case to show the business is sound and requires someone to be on site. Then, providing the business establishes, the council will permit a house to be built after the three years.
So, what the council is saying sounds fairly standard. If you’ve been on the site for 10 years or more then you might not need to apply for planning permission to stay but might have to apply for a lawful development certificate to prove the point.