Non-mains Services

[LukeRC]

Hi,
Sorry if this has being asked before...

I'm looking at buying some land and placing a caravan on it to live in,
however the land has no services connected or close by and to start with I'm on a budget, planning permission enquiry is in progress and all going well I'll be buying the land!

Anyhow onto the Q's
Electric - Diesel Generator I'm guessing!
Water - not a clue
Gas - bottles of gas, sorted!
Sewerage - septic tanks are expensive arn't they???

 

[Burnerman]

I think the water supply is absolutely paramount mate - how reliable are wells?
Diesel generators are ok - you can get ones that automatically start up on demand - but you may qualify for mains overland.
Septic tank drainage - no problem so long as the land is a big enough area, has a slight fall preferably and has porous earth. have a look at 'Klargesters'.
Fuel - propane gas or oil...if you want a propane tank, there are strict regs concerning its positioning.
Lots of homework here.....including local byelaws and planning permission.
John

 

[OwainDIYer]

Hi,
Sorry if this has being asked before...

I'm looking at buying some land and placing a caravan on it to live in,
however the land has no services connected or close by and to start with I'm on a budget, planning permission enquiry is in progress and all going well I'll be buying the land!

Anyhow onto the Q's
Electric - Diesel Generator I'm guessing!
Water - not a clue
Gas - bottles of gas, sorted!
Sewerage - septic tanks are expensive arn't they???

electric - batteries and inverter with periodic recharing from the genny for standby/light load, lights at night etc, and direct from the genny for heavy load. Look at the systems used on barges etc.

water - you need a well or borehole and an chemical analyst to certify the water is potable

septic tanks are prohibited in many locations and you will need an effluent digester with a reed bed or similar for the outflow, you may need a permit from the environment agency if you want to discharge the outflow onto land or a watercourse.

phone/broadband ... ?

 

[LukeRC]

Really new to this game, I'm 19!!!
I've decided this is the cheaper and better way of getting onto the property ladder even if I have to make do for now!

wells can you have this just anywhere, I didn't think you could?
The fuel will be gas, so just gas cylinders
and the septic tank could work on the site I'm looking at getting
when you say qaulify for overland electric what does this mean?

Cheers john, I'm afraid I have a lot of learning to do, just hoping it can all be put into practice

 

[LukeRC]

Owain this water well or bore hole how difficult and expensive is it?
and septic tank, sewerage problem is appearing scary!
Phone/broadband don't fuss me, I can always get a dongle to go with my mobile

 

[ntb]

The property ladder is more of a snake these days. You're 19, just rent a flat. You're not going to get much totty in a caravan on a muddy field unless you like the wooly sort.

 

[LukeRC]

Haha love it!!! For me mate the totty has to adapt, I am who I am!
nah I've live at college for 2years, and currently renting a flat of someone and have being for 9month, its just dead money and tbh boring!

 

[foxhole]

You should speak to council, doubt you will get planning permission.

 

[xr4x4]

You should speak to council, doubt you will get planning permission.

Ditto, there are ways round it tho.

If you create a business on site and you need to live on site for security reasons, you can apply and start the slow process that way.

 

[LukeRC]

Hi, well the village the land is in have had other residential caravans approved... I currently seeking enquiry planning permission approval, then if successful I will buy the land and seek planning permission

 

[OwainDIYer]

Owain this water well or bore hole how difficult and expensive is it?
and septic tank, sewerage problem is appearing scary!
Phone/broadband don't fuss me, I can always get a dongle to go with my mobile

depends how far down the water is.

And whether it's drinkable when you find it.

A quick search suggests that pumps for wells/boreholes start at £200 but £400+ is more typical.

If you're buying the land it would usually make sense to pay to get mains services put in if possible, which may add to the land value.

 

[Diggerjohn]

It is almost impossible to get P.P. for permanent residential caravans. People get PP for them to live in while they are converting a barn, renovating a house, etc. but not for permanent homes unless it is a Residential Park development. It is as hard to get PP for a permanent caravan as it is for a house and I think that the landowner would have found out about the chance of PP before he sold the land. I think that he has 'seen you coming'.
I own a piece of land in a village and have tried to get PP for it for 15 years with no luck. Not for a house, holiday home, offices, business, caravan, storage, nothing, and the land has electric and water to it plus a Permit from the Environment Agency for a sewage treatment plant. The plot is worthless, but I wouldn't sell it to you as I wouldn't do that to a young lad.
Costs
Electric genny £1000 for a decent one that can do 4Kw/hr
Solar Panel system for 4Kw £9000
Borehole - I have just had one fitted for £7500 after the water tested OK.
Sewage system - over 60% of all sites fail the tests for a septic tank soakaway. You also need a lot of land as it is likely to be over 100M2. I know this because I install them for a living. You need a ditch or stream to discharge a sewage treatment plant into if the soakaway tests fail. Either way, budget £6000+. You will need a Permit for it when the current E.A. Review ends and it might not be given.

You need to find out all of the above and GET QUOTES- NOT ESTIMATES, BEFORE YOU SIGN ANYTHING!!

 

[LukeRC]

Cheers diggerjohn, I'm applying for planning before I buy!
I'll look into all of that closey whilst I wait, there's several plots up for grabs in the same area

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Cheers diggerjohn, I'm applying for planning before I buy!
I'll look into all of that closey whilst I wait, there's several plots up for grabs in the same area

You say in your other thread that you have submitted a planning enquiry, this is entirely different to submitting a planning application and nothing you receive by way of an enquiry will be worth a bean in reality, to proceed on the back of a planning enquiry is madness. Furthermore your Local Authority will have published maps where it considers development of certain types will be acceptable or not. This should be the first thing you check before bothering with anything else. If you are outside the permitted areas frankly you may as well give up, no way are they're gonna let a caravan on the site.

 

[Diggerjohn]

Cheers diggerjohn, I'm applying for planning before I buy!
I'll look into all of that closey whilst I wait, there's several plots up for grabs in the same area

Problem is that if a plot of land gets PP for a residential caravan, without a business clause, its value rockets, as it would also get PP for a house. No way will the Vendor sell it to you for the price of land without PP. I have seen it so many times. All you will do is put money in the Vendors pocket and end up with no plot.
You need some sort of legal agreemnet in place now whereby the price is fixed and you have the right to buy, after you get PP.