Off Grid Living

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
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Milzy241
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Off Grid Living

Post by Milzy241 »

Hi, i'm not sure if this is the right 'section' of the forum but i have a question about off grid living.
I was wondering how easy it would be to do ? For eg, if i have an acre of land, could i plonk a static on it and live in it ???
Im not necessarily bothered about the logistics of power / water / waste etc at this time as i have my own ideas on them.
Research i have done is a bit confusing, some say yes, some say no.
Can anyone shed any light on it for me ??
TIA
Milzy
Mo
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Re: Off Grid Living

Post by Mo »

I think there are planning restrictions that stop you.
Our house was built on part of a field that before WW2 was divided into plots with huts and caravans on. Town and Country Planning laws came in soon after the war and the caravans were not allowed to return, except that the person who had our house built was actually living in his hut (others had used theirs for weekends), so in the early 50s he was given planning permission for a bungalow on condition the hut was pulled down. When we moved in (early 70s) the hut was still there, you could see partitions for kitchen, loo (still with t roll holder on partition) and main room. It had been used as a hen house.
I've seen things in the local paper about the council taking people to court who were living in caravans without planning permission.
Not sure if anything has changed recently.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: Off Grid Living

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi I am looking to do the same at some point in time .
I have been looking for land .
Some have covenants on to stop building or wheeled vehicles .
Some are green belt and will have problems to build on .
Some have if you build on the land to pay previous owners a uplift of value which it was paid for .
You NEED to have solicitors look into it before purchasing as to late when bought.
Any land near to me that has possible building rights on it goes up in price to beyond what I wish to pay for .
(Expensive chicken coop . )
Off grid does not mean no power , solar panels do wonders and can run water pump from ground but again it needs looking into .
Even a wind turbo for single use can be an issue .
Maybe this is a good place for people to assist in doing this and better advice can be given .
Bob
Milzy241
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Re: Off Grid Living

Post by Milzy241 »

Yeh, the price of the land is a killer, thanks for the advice)t'
kitla
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Re: Off Grid Living

Post by kitla »

I'm sure you need to apply for permission, & you'll need access to sanitation. Otherwise everyone would be doing it & gypsy/travellers would be able to settle anywhere without contest. However, you can put a mobile home up to a certain size in your "garden" without permission so long as it isnt totally self contained, meaning you must need the house for something (bathroom or kitchen).
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant
Mo
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Re: Off Grid Living

Post by Mo »

I have a feeling that, even then you can't live in it the whole year round (like a Granny annex). There are some rules that allow temporary uses (caravans for so many months, car boot sales a certain number of times a year). Not sure what they are, and the tories have changed a lot of the rules (to the annoyance of local councils) in recent years.
Trouble is, if you ask and are told 'no' you can't then say you didn't know. But not good if you spend a lot of money / effort setting up and then are thrown off.
Every so often the papers find a colony of people living in woodland without permission. It is harder for the council then to get rid of them. You can feel sympathy for them, but as Kitla says, if there were no rules and everyone did just what they liked, where they liked that would not be good. Unsightly and possible insanitary.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
Meanqueen
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Re: Off Grid Living

Post by Meanqueen »

I know someone who has a plot of land, it was part of the agreement when he split from his wife. It's next to the house they lived in, she kept the house, he had the land.
He built what he calls a showmans waggon, all self build from scrap wood. He has lived in it for a long time. Someone grassed him up to the council and they came to inspect. They agreed that he could stay.
ilona
Meanqueen
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Re: Off Grid Living

Post by Meanqueen »

This video has just been posted by John who I mentioned above. I got the story a bit wrong, the piece of land was next to the marital home. He bought it from the person who owned it.
In the video he describes how over a period of ten years, he was able to gain permission to stay there. Worth a watch.
https://youtu.be/wMuJfxY4SZY
ilona
Dorrens daughter
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Re: Off Grid Living

Post by Dorrens daughter »

Just another thought rightmove bg has a number of homes in various states in the north of the country on their own land from 2k no need for a caravan, plenty of land included to grow your own and live "off grid". Just if your thinking of it don't buy too close to the Danube because of flooding and mozzies.
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