What are rural worker’s dwellings?
(also called Rural Enterprise Dwellings)
A dwelling which is subject to a planning condition or legal agreement restricting occupation to someone employed, or was last employed, in agriculture, forestry or other appropriate rural employment.
Source: Planning Portal – England and Wales
Proposed rural worker’s dwellings (England)
In England, the National Planning Policy Framework states new isolated homes in the countryside should be avoided unless certain circumstances apply. One of the circumstances is: “there is an essential need for a rural worker, including those taking majority control of a farm business, to live permanently at or near their place of work in the countryside”.
Relevant considerations that local planning authorities take into account with proposals for rural worker’s dwellings are set out in the Government’s Planning Practice Guidance and are copied below:
- “evidence of the necessity for a rural worker to live at, or in close proximity to, their place of work to ensure the effective operation of an agricultural, forestry or similar land-based rural enterprise (for instance, where farm animals or agricultural processes require on-site attention 24-hours a day and where otherwise there would be a risk to human or animal health or from crime, or to deal quickly with emergencies that could cause serious loss of crops or products); [the functional test]
- the degree to which there is confidence that the enterprise will remain viable for the foreseeable future; [the financial test]
- whether the provision of an additional dwelling on site is essential for the continued viability of a farming business through the farm succession process;
- whether the need could be met through improvements to existing accommodation on the site, providing such improvements are appropriate taking into account their scale, appearance and the local context; and
- in the case of new enterprises, whether it is appropriate to consider granting permission for a temporary dwelling for a trial period”.
Note: As well as national policy and guidance, your local planning authority may have its own Local Plan policy on rural worker’s dwellings to take into account.
Proposed rural enterprise dwellings (Wales)
Planning Policy Wales contains provisions to enable rural enterprise workers to live at or close to their place of work. It states that rural enterprise dwellings represent one of the few circumstances in which isolated new residential development in the open countryside may be justified.
It goes on to state: “All applications for new rural enterprise dwellings should be carefully examined to ensure that there is a genuine need. It will be important to establish whether the rural enterprise is operating as a business and will continue to operate for a reasonable length of time”.
Further guidance is provided in Technical Advice Note (TAN) 6: Planning for Sustainable Rural Communities and in the related practice guidance.
Note: As well as national (Welsh) policy and guidance, your local planning authority may have its own Local Plan policy on Rural Workers Dwellings to take into account. For example in Powys… Planning Guidance for Rural Enterprise Dwellings on Smaller Scale Horticultural Enterprises.
Temporary dwellings
Often, whether in England or Wales, a local planning authority will expect a rural worker’s dwelling to take the form of a temporary dwelling, usually a caravan, whilst the land-based business is being established. They may grant temporary planning permission for 3 or 5 years whilst the business is demonstrated as being financially sound. After that, planning permission for a permanent dwelling could be applied for.
Innovative approaches
There are several instances where an organisation has obtained planning permission for multiple rural worker’s dwellings to support small farmers and growers.
The Ecological Land Cooperative has pioneered this approach. In their own words:
“The Ecological Land Cooperative develops affordable, low impact smallholdings for ecological agriculture. We believe that small-scale ecological farming can work in today’s economy. Our vision is to see farms which provide sound livelihoods and healthy food for local communities, whilst improving ecology and biodiversity. Determined to turn good ideas into reality we have designed a model for creating affordable, ecological smallholdings. Since 2013 we have established clusters of working start farms across England and Wales, for new entrants to start in agroecology”.
For more on this, see Ecological Land Cooperative – Our Model.
More recently, three small farms have been established in Sarn, on 36 acres of Powys County Council land. The aim is to provide land for new entrants into agro-ecological farming, and to grow fresh food for local communities in Powys and beyond.
The other partners in this project are… Our Food Trust, Social Farms and Gardens, Shared Assets, Landworkers’ Alliance, Cultivate, Nature Friendly Farming Network, Lantra, Black Mountains College, Ecological Land Cooperative, Eco Dyfi and Gwlad Consortium.
For more on this, see Our Food Trust – Sarn farms.
Existing rural worker’s dwellings
Of course, you might see rural enterprise or worker’s dwellings for sale on the open market. These were often granted permission and built many years ago.
The estate agents will normally flag that the dwelling in question has an Agricultural Occupancy Condition (AOC), sometimes referred to as an Agricultural Tie, or AgTag. The asking price for the dwelling is usually lower than a dwelling without an agricultural tie, sometimes as much as 30% lower. A key determinant is how much land the dwelling has with it… lots of land = less change to the price… no land = bigger reduction.
Any persons intending to purchase a dwelling with an agricultural tie would need to comply with the condition upon occupation. It is therefore important to check the wording, as this can vary. Sometimes the condition will restrict occupation to someone solely or mainly working in agriculture and their dependants, although other versions of the condition are possible. There have been lot of appeal decisions (and court cases) over the years on what is meant by ‘occupation’ and ‘working in agriculture’ and ‘dependants’ etc.
For more info, here is a link to the website of a planning consultant specialising in agricultural ties… https://parsonsonplanning.com/
Key terms
Agriculture – This includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, the breeding and keeping of livestock (including any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land), the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes. Source: Town and Country Planning Act 1990
Video
The first video below shows an example of an existing property – a bungalow – with an agricultural tie, meaning the occupier has to derive their main source of income through farming. It is a 4-bed property with 13 acres of land on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.
External links
The Land is Ours – Rural Planning Handbook
Related pages
One Planet Development (Cymru)
AL1: Regenerative & Low Impact Development (Cornwall)
Low impact residential development (Dartmoor)
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