The message
from Chris Nellist
contains these words:

"Drakanthus" wrote in
:

How do the English laws and regulations governing 'designated
agricultural land' come into play when someone wants to convert
farmland into garden??

What actually happens if someone buys somewhere in the country with
a few acres, and starts turning a field previously used for
agriculture or grazing into a large garden? Maybe rearranging a few
internal boundaries in the process.

There was a feature on the local (Midlands) TV news a few years ago.
A farmer, who was a very keen and competent gardener, had extended his
flower garden (quite substantially) into one of his fields - and made
a stunning job of it, with several flower borders a lawn, pond, summer
house etc. Really nice. BUT he didn't get planning permission / change
of usage agreed first. It made the news because the local authority
insisted he had to rip up the entire wonderful garden and convert it
back to farm land. What a colossal waste of time and money. The farmer
was absolutely gutted as you would expect.

Bloody local councils!

Is there still such a thing as a ten year rule whereby if you have
actually been changing the use of the land for ten years without anyone
protesting, it will be rubber-stamped by the council on application?

Janet G