What land can I use?

[Lucy1995]

Hi, me and my boyfriend have been thinking of getting a yurt and setting up somewhere in south west england. We both need some advice on the type of land that would be good to choose. Also, what land is easiest to put a yurt on in regards to councils and planning permission? There is a lot of agricultural land but would that be suitable for a yurt and would the council permit this? I know it depends on different councils but was hoping anyone would have experience with dealing with councils in Devon and how supportive they are with this kind of thing?
Thanks in advance!

[devon-yurts]

You are best to site your yurt on level ground and not under any trees. Trees spit lots of sap which can make your yurt go mouldy and can rot your canvas. The location of the yurt needs to be somewhere where there is a throughput of air to keep the yurt from damp conditions. Planning permission is notoriously hard to obtain in Devon, but if you are tenacious and can prove a valid reason to have your yurt in a particular location then you may be lucky. You may not need planning if you are not intending to live full time in the yurt and only use it occasionally. Also taking it down in the winter can make the authorities be more amenable. Owning your own land is a necessity and making sure you are not in a flood risk zone is a must. When we were attempting to get planning permission for our glamping site near Totnes (DEVON YURTS Â*Â*Glamping in Style! - Hemsford Yurt Camp Home Page, Totnes, Devon), we had to do market research to justify the need for self catering accommodation in our area. We also had to prove we had mains water supply and a landline phone along with flood risk assessment by the Environment Agency and permission from the highways agency due to more traffic being generated to our local area.