Planning Information

At the moment you are most unlikely to gain planning permission for a permanent dwelling on your Woodland Site. However all the sites are on the outskirts of Duror and it seems likely that Keil hill will one day become incorporated into the expanding village.  In the meantime, the land may be enjoyed in a low impact manner.  Full-time foresters who derive their income from their woodland are usually allowed to build a cabin or site a caravan. In such cases, a stringent test of business viability and functional is applied to an enterprise.

Forestry workers are generally allowed to live in a temporary dwelling in woods during a particular season while carrying out forestry work. There is no clear ruling on how long a season is.

Various forest buildings can be erected without normal planning permission. This includes the erection, extension or alteration of a forestry building, such as a tool shed, store, office or shelter, or putting in a “private way” (access track). This is called Permitted Development. To qualify, a building that is erected cannot be used as a dwelling, cannot be within 25 metres of a classified road, and must be necessary for the purposes of forestry.

You must give advance notice to the local planning authority of what you intend to do. This system is called the Prior Notification Procedure and involves filling in a simple form and providing a map and drawing. The planners then have 28 days in which to notify you that your development should not begin without their prior approval of the siting, design and external appearance.

Using a caravan for forestry purposes, such as storage, shelter for workers or as an office, is another matter. Provided the caravan is not for residential use, it falls completely outside planning controls, and you do not need to ask the planning authority in advance. According to the Caravan Sites Act 1968, the legal definition of a caravan includes mobile homes and self-built structures.