Book review: Rural Planning Handbook
- The
Rural Planning Handbook
has a cover price of £25. But £20 will secure it direct from the author, and cash in an envelope is also acceptable. Now that’s what I call publishing.
There are many good things about the new edition of a key guide for self-builders and off-gridders trying to win planning permission to live in the countryside.
It is both a detailed and comprehensive survey of the main options and pitfalls for getting official permission to live an off-grid (or ‘low-impact’) existence in the most crowded parts of England, where property developers and farmers have failed to get their way, and rich neighbours jealously guard access to the byways and backwaters of this rich and fecund country.
But the best thing of all about the Rural Planning Handbook is that it is not available on Amazon. Yes, there are one or two copies available from dealers for £35, but the best way to buy it is to send a cheque for £20 to Chapter 7 – the campaigning organisation which is led by Simon Fairlie, author of the handbook. They also accept cash. Paypal by prior arrangement.
The book has been an important part of the armoury of hundreds, possibly thousands of planning applications and planning appeals over the past ten years. It runs through the main processes that must be undertaken if you are to win your battle with the authorities, and prepares readers for the mental anguish they will undoubtedly experience.
There is a huge amount of well-organised information – see the table of contents below. Planning laws are so detailed and specific that the information is often bewildering, even though it is clearly presented by Fairlie, who has been writing on this subject for decades.
What the book lacks is a series of case studies or general hypothetical situations, so that individuals can get to the details that apply specifically to their own circumstances instead of having to read between the lines to find what they need. There should be living or fictionalised examples of situations such as living in an agricultural building, buying a field, living in woodland, living in a caravan in a field or wood, living in a camper van etc. The informational content would not be any different but this way of organising it would make it much more accessible for non-experts.
Rural Planning Handbook – Contents page:
1. Introduction to the Mysteries of the Planning System
Understanding the mentality • An overview of the English planning system • Ground rules for an easy life • What should I do first — move on or apply for permission?
2 Permitted Development
What is and isn’t development? • What is permitted development? • A list of the most relevant permitted development rights
3 Making a Planning Application
Submitting a planning application • Putting in a convincing application • After submitting the …