Tiny UK town

[PJman]

I have had an idea for a long time now about how to use some land I co-own with a friend.

We have enough land to build a at least 3 houses probably 6 if they were Sqeezed in. The problem is that the land is right in the sticks and I think it would be and ecological survey disaster zone becuase there are so many different specieces of wild life around, sadly i've driven into numerous badgers and other critters like foxes while in the car.

I am thinking though that the local planning council may be willing to over look some of these things as its a tiny village 50 houses tops. has anyone heard of this sort of thing before and know if smaller planning groups are more lenient?

I guess its a case by case thing, but i know the local farmers (who make up most of the board) hate badgers anyway.

Cheers for reading.

[huxley]

If there's a considerable amount of wildlife on your land, depending on what wildlife it is specifically, this might be a hindrance to your planning application. Personally, I don't think that's a bad thing as green space and wildlife space should be appreciated by rural communities. Having said that, the current Coalition Government's proposals to relax planning regulations in rural areas to alleviate the housing crisis might contribute to your new housing idea. They are aiming at building more houses so that could be in your favour, but different regional and local organisations will be strongly opposed to new-builds or changes to planning regulations, so you'll have to wait and see.

Is there any large-scale economic facilities in your area that will attract new residents? E.g. Wind farms, different power-plants, business parks, factories etc. Is your community of historic significance or will it attract tourists or residents who would like to live in an interesting community? Are there a significant amount of young people wishing to live in the area but the area lacks enough housing? These factors will contribute to what you'd like to do with your land. Which county are you in?

In the mean time, why not diversify and use this land for another use if you're looking to make money off it. If there's pasture; you could rent it out as a local horse paddock by renting it to an individual for say £50 a week so they can put their horses on it. A lot of people do this in the villages where I live.