3 replies to this topic

[jav]

I promised a diary, so let's start eh !!!

I will start with a little bit about myself and Jav

We met at a local village pub a few years ago , where I worked behind the bar, we were both divorcees
and both been through a rough time. Jav had been brought up on a farm and new all the local farmers who every evening would call in for a drink after a hard day at work. Only now did my love for the good life begin. Jav had always dreamt of owning a farm, he would often talk to me about it as he was propped
up sipping his pint !!!!!

And my fav record of all time was Gerry Rafferty, who we would put on the jukebox every evening -

He Has a dream about buying some land
Giving up the booze and the one night stands
eventually settle down in a quiet little town
and forget about everything

So to cut a long story short, a few years on and we went for it

Jan 2010

We had started looking for land on the internet and local estate agents, we found one nice plot but fell through due to farmer deciding to take it back off the market after 2 weeks of haggling. That was it we wern't giving up.

Eventually after a lot of soul searching decided to go for a local plot (5 mins from us) where we had always liked, but previous owner had put a 25% clawback on it.

The way land is at the moment, it was pretty cheap for what it was (17 acres)and a very pretty river
along our boundary. We put in a offer on the 3rd March - offer accepted !

Now then the hard work began, we decided to put up half of the finance and get an agricultural mortgage for the rest. Eventually raised the money through an agent, who put us through a leading bank for a business Mortgage (because it was over 12 acres had to be a business loan).

So finance in place, went back to solicitors at the end of March and started the ball rolling, after 12 whole painstaking weeks completion date was last Friday ! Relief lets get out the champagne we thought !!!

Uh Uh !!! Those 2 horse! eh babe they shouldn't be there I say

To be continued :-

[jav]

Well thought it was about time to update diary, a lot has happened in the last 6 months.
Now where were we !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a few arguments and a few police visits (long story) horses were now removed, so it was a time just to start getting a feel for our land, tidying up and to start making some pig pens. We had seen a advert in the local paper mentioning a sale of 2 gloucester old spot guilts in pig. Yes you read it in pig.

Off we went to see these comical animals, and was hooked. I turned around and looked at jav and my face said it all.
So asked all the relevent questions when were they due etc etc. and made arrangements to take these girls home. 2 weeks we told them enough to make them a large pig pen, and a pig hut. Javs a carpenter so that helped.

When they were home with us, we thought now was the time to put in for our permitted development. 2 pigs we thought, both pregnant, they surely would think we were serious about our smallholding. A new Marsey (second hand) had arrived on
our plot, also purchased a trailer, livestock trailer so was hoping hobby farm wouldn't come up !

We put in for our permitted about 8 weeks after purchase had completed, we fiiled in all the forms, had some help off field to farm for a statement which seemed to help. And put in the fees. We just had to wait now with baited breath. After about a week we had a phone call. A nice lady rang, saying she would like to visit our plot. And made arrangements for the following day.

The morning arrived, I noticed she had a load of paperwork in her hand and a camera. Although she was very nice, i felt that she just wanted me to say something wrong. The one thing I did pick up was she kept telling me I needed to have started with the animals before we would have permitted. Wether this is right or wrong, with our LPA there was no way we would
have had permission approved without the 2 pigs we had in our pen.

She went over to the pigs, and when I started to fuss them (wrong move) she told me that she thought these were just pets,
and that I needed to prove to her that this was not a hobby !!!

Here we go again those words hobby farmers !

I told her just because we had a business, wouldn't mean I couldn't fuss my animals. And they would be well loved. Her reply was are they going to slaughter. I said not these mammas, just their babies !!!!!

Only then did she go over and have a look at where barn would be situated, and checked out machinery, asked some more questions about barn, to which we had all our answers.

Then came into conversation about access road - to which we were told can't touch gate because it went on to an A road, but could start road 25mts after gate.

We thought fine, we would apply for access gate to be widened in time, let's get approval for barn first and off she went.

2 weeks went by, and there it was a letter from our Local planning debt. Permitted development approved !

Get that bottle of wine (maybe 2) in the fridge Jav !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ruthie]

The permitted was approved now, so we needed to get on the land a static caravan to make plans for our home.
It is Christmas time 2010, we make plans to move our caravan on to our land Boxing Day. The roads are quiet we thought,
here we go !!!!!! Ice, Snow there was nothing holding us back. We got a firm bring it close by, a friend store it for a few days. And now we were in our tractor putting it in to place. We done it ! First cup of tea in our new home ! What a Christmas !

It was three weeks before we had the dreaded phone call, The planners had taken our phone number off our application and rang Jav. What do you think your doing he told us, Jav mentioned Food Storage, Health and Hygiene. He said no way, and you have 21 days to remove the caravan. It had taken our neighbours just days to report us, and he said there would be a letter in the post.

With the help of some of my good friends on here, a letter was written back stating we were not living in the caravan and that it would be used for storage and Health and Hygiene. A letter came back saying ok enforcement now dropped. Heard nothing now for about 6 months, until we move on a shipping container. The same phone call 3 weeks later
saying you have 21 days to remove it. A letter goes back to them stating we needed it for storage until barn up and running. No reply on that one to date.

It was time to start building up our business again now, and look at getting water to our caravan. We decided on a borehole which cost us in the region of five Thousand Pounds, but yet in our eyes our own private water supply so well worth the money. We purchased a genni, and with making a few more little changes to our new home eventually move in.
We had done it, in the 12 months of buying our plot of land, we had put in for permitted, added water and built up out fold of Highland Cattle and pigs. We were living the dream.

[ruthie]

We started advertising our pork and Beef and couldn't believe the feedback we were having.
We are busy taking orders for our Highland Beef for the Christmas period and have started
selling it to a local restaurants. We actually forgot about the planners until that dreaded phone call. It is now November, we have been living here 2 months.