Planning permission for a yurt

Naaslady

Hi all,

Does anyone know if planning permission is needed for a yurt? I will not be living in it but possibly using it for business purposes. It will be on my own land. Need to know where to start before I invest in one.

Thanks!

Mellor

A bit of a strange one.

Possible business purposes???
commercial development requires planning. No exemptions.

As you can imagine, yurts are not specifically defined in the Planning and Development Act. But they would in my opinion come under class 3 exemption for domestic only

[QUOTE=Planning and Development Act (click for link)]
CLASS 3

The construction, erection or placing within the curtilage of a house of any tent, awning, shade or other object, greenhouse, garage, store, shed or other similar structure.

1. No such structure shall be constructed, erected or placed forward of the front wall of a house.
   
2. The total area of such structures constructed, erected or placed within the curtilage of a house shall not, taken together with any other such structures previously constructed, erected or placed within the said curtilage, exceed 25 square metres.
   
3. The construction, erection or placing within the curtilage of a house of any such structure shall not reduce the amount of private open space reserved exclusively for the use of the occupants of the house to the rear or to the side of the house to less than 25 square metres.
   
4. The external finishes of any garage or other structure constructed, erected or placed to the side of a house, and the roof covering where any such structure has a tiled or slated roof, shall conform with those of the house.
   
5. The height of any such structure shall not exceed, in the case of a building with a tiled or slated pitched roof, 4 metres or, in any other case, 3 metres.
   
6. The structure shall not be used for human habitation or for the keeping of pigs, poultry, pigeons, ponies or horses, or for any other purpose other than a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the house as such.

[/QUOTE]

The first obvious limitation 25 sq.m, or 5640mm in diameter for a circular yurt.
Due to clause 4. and the typical finished of a yurt, it must also be behind the house.

The height, at the apex is restricted to 3m.



So, my reading of that is that a yurt can be built without planning. But based on possibly business use, the location (i doubt your business use would be behind the house), and height maybe being an issue, in your case planning is required.

Naaslady

Thanks so much for that information.

I would be using it as a therapy room for massage. I'm currently a sole trader.

It would be on a site approx half a mile from my parents house. The site is now in my name and I would like to build on it in the next few years.

The yurt is 5 metres in diameter and 3 metres in height. There is currently a farm gate opening out to the road so I wouldnt need to put in a new entrance-just a pathway to the yurt.

Would the fact that it is not on a site where a residence already exists mean I'd need to go for a different type of planning permission?

Thanks

Poor Uncle Tom

You will need planning permission as your piece of ground is not considered to be 'within the curtilage of a dwelling house' and as such does not have any exempted development entitlements.

There is also the problem of water, sewerage and parking to consider in the overall design. The LA are likely to consider your development as a commercial business rather then a hobby activity.