The law and bee keeping , the use of agricultural land for bees

[Swn58]

I live in the country with a small garden but a large paddock next door to me .My neighbour has kindly agreed to be allow a couple of hives on his land . I have just fenced off an area and he has now had an enforcement notice from the council. I spoke to the officer who had said bees are not allowed on paddock without a change of use of the land as they are not agriculture.
Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated as I have spent a hugs amount on fencing and I am shocked. The officer has said one or two hives is not acceptable on agricultural land .I may have to abandon my dream of having bees

Any advice or experience regarding the law, or use of agricultural land would be greatly appreciated

A council 'Jobsworth' I suspect

 

[Swn58]

Do you have an obnoxious neighbour?

That'll be it!

 

[Swn58]

Also I believe that farmers get "bonus points" on their paperwork for having bees on their land!

Yep!

 

[Swn58]

Don't pick a fight unless you have to, but don't be afraid to pick a fight.

Yes....my new tactics are to keep well below the radar!

 

[Moobee]

Our house came with covenants in the deeds stating the land couldn't be used to keep livestock so I'm not sure you're entirely correct above.

I understand that covenants can be lifted if they are particularly old and deemed no longer relevant.

 

[Poly Hive]

Can the OP describe this fence please. Preferably with a photo as something has acted as a trigger here.

PH

 

[Nige.Coll]

You may need planning for the fence.
As far as the bees go he is talking rubbish.

 

[Anduril]

If the fence in the paddock is in keeping with the original fence, I see no problem. So if the original fence is sheep fencing and rounds and you have done the same, then that is not the problem.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I see the OP hasn't been on for the last day or so, so he's probably losing a lots less sleep about this than we are.
It would be good to hear the outcome though.

 

[Lemony]

I'd not rely on what the planning officer has said on the phone in any way at all, not least because it's no real use as evidence. I'd try to keep everything in writing.

If there's an enforcement notice then I'd expect it to detail the nature of the problem. If it's that the planning officer doesn't accept that bees can be kept on agricultural land then I'd respond in writing referring to the part of the act that I mentioned earlier and explaining that as the bees will be producing food they appear to meet the conditions of agricultural use and that you see no reason for them to object to their presence.

If it says that they can't be kept on an area designated for equestrian use then that might be more tricky. More specialist advice would probably be required. I imagine a lot of beekeepers might inadvertently find themselves in the same boat, never having considered that there could be an issue.

On the other hand, if the enforcement notice isn't totally specific I'd reply asking for a full explanation of the reasons that the enforcement notice has been issued and see what they come back with.

It's entirely possible that the notice has been issued by a planning officer who doesn't understand the situation. My experience of their "services" is far from positive. I've had an application turned down by one planning officer only to be told by another working in the same office (who worked on a modified resubmitted application) that they could see no reason for the refusal and if they had dealt with it they would have approved it without an issue. At times it does appear to be a complete lottery.

James

Thank you so much for your thoughts
I have asked for the guidelines he was using and he said there isn’t anything specific in his opinion one or two hives are not acceptable but if it was commercial it would be.
I asked how many hives would he consider to be commercial and he said enough to supply all supermarkets in Yorkshire!

 

[Lemony]

If the fence in the paddock is in keeping with the original fence, I see no problem. So if the original fence is sheep fencing and rounds and you have done the same, then that is not the problem.

I have used stock fencing. He’s coming to look so I need to be as prepared as I can be
Thank you

 

[Lemony]

NBU/APHA say beekeeping comes under agriculture and falls under DEFRA.

I phoned them earlier and now have essentially the above response in an email.

I'd recommend you follow the advice in various posts above and (politely) ask for more information and their rationale/justification in writing before taking their argument to pieces and escalating up the chain if appropriate. Don't pick a fight unless you have to, but don't be afraid to pick a fight.

Thank you so much for your help
Planning officer said a few hives recreational
Many hives would be ok
I’m trying to get together as much info to provide to him when he turns , being informed rather than picking a fight seems like the best initial response
He also said chickens are recreational !

 

[OldFarm]

I can't believe that there's never been a decision on such a case. Bees may be a bit of a special case. Other than poultry, I think most other livestock would require a CPH number for the land and I doubt you'd get one (I think there's some odd rule that less than fifty birds aren't considered the same way). Perhaps keeping bees in a garden is considered a recreational thing similar to say, keeping budgies (maybe -- I know nothing about keeping budgies) or something like that, and there are different rules.

James

A CHP number for more than 50 poultry is a legal requirement, less than 50 it's optional.

 

[Lemony]

As mentioned previously, I would have the officer provide his objections (and grounds for same) in writing and signed off.
I seriously doubt there is a legal leg to stand on

(And with appropriate redaction I'd love to see a copy posted on this thread)

I will keep you all posted with the response from enforcement officer thank you

 

[Lemony]

I can't believe that there's never been a decision on such a case. Bees may be a bit of a special case. Other than poultry, I think most other livestock would require a CPH number for the land and I doubt you'd get one (I think there's some odd rule that less than fifty birds aren't considered the same way). Perhaps keeping bees in a garden is considered a recreational thing similar to say, keeping budgies (maybe -- I know nothing about keeping budgies) or something like that, and there are different rules.

James

Enforcement officer said gardens are fine

 

[JamezF]

Thank you so much for your thoughts
I have asked for the guidelines he was using and he said there isn’t anything specific in his opinion one or two hives are not acceptable but if it was commercial it would be.
I asked how many hives would he consider to be commercial and he said enough to supply all supermarkets in Yorkshire!

That really sounds to me as though he is making stuff up on the fly. How would he know how many hives would be required to supply all the supermarkets in Yorkshire, for a start? And how could you possibly site that many colonies in a single paddock and still have sufficient forage for them all?

James

 

[Lemony]

AFAIK all land, no matter what its 'use' class, has standing agricultural permission. The council can never tell anybody not to grow a carrot, whether for own use or for sale. The same is true of keeping livestock. And livestock needs fencing; and again, there is no law against fencing (unless by way of an article 4 direction).

You cannot tell anybody to stop doing agriculture until and unless there is a nuisance ruling. That must come from the environment office, via, ultimately, a court order.

So you can tell the planning enforcement officer (who just want his desk cleared asap, and is happy to pretend he know what he is doing when has no legal training whatsoever) to jump in the nearest lake. Politely of course.

He will have come because of a complaint - planning folk don't come around unless someone make a planning complaint. So you could ask after the reasons that bought him there, if you wish. Yes, as others have said, ask for reasons in writing.

If the complainant now contacts the Environment office (under the same council) they will turn up, and you will have a issue not about the use, but about 'nuisance'.

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If and only if the planners could could consider your 'use' to be solely leisure then they would have a case for saying you have illegally taken land out of its designated agricultural 'use' and are using it for recreational purposes. So be sure to emphasise you are keeping bees for their yield, for home or sales, and/or raising bees for expansion or sale. Planners (and the Environment folk) are under strict instruction not to get in the way of growing businesses without very good reason, and you can use that to your advantage.

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However: if the land _use_ (the paddock you are in) has been officially changed from agriculture to leisure 'use' as a result of being used for recreational riding only, then you may find it has been changed to equestrian use ONLY. In that case you are on different ground, and I don't know what happens. There may be a court ruling that will help - if you can find it.

The request for detail should clarify the position. Planning enforcement officers won't generally volunteer _any_ information I've found. A written request goes to the legal team, and the response is legally stated.

If you wanted something to do while you wait, searching 'equestrian use, planning restrictions' or similar might throw up something interesting. Look closely at related planning appeals.

This offers a route into appropriate planning law in this area: Agriculture Act 1947

Thank you so much for your help
The land historically had cows on it then fell into disrepair for twenty years
New owners have cleared the land and reseeded
Whilst putting up The stock fence a neighbour asked what we were doing and said he wasn’t happy . The complaint went in that afternoon so obviously a nuisance complaint would follow if the enforcement was squashed
Not sure where to go from here

 

[Lemony]

That really sounds to me as though he is making stuff up on the fly. How would he know how many hives would be required to supply all the supermarkets in Yorkshire, for a start? And how could you possibly site that many colonies in a single paddock and still have sufficient forage for them all?

James

I know James , I was so shocked , it seems there are no concrete rules just his opinion that the decision will be based on

 

[OldFarm]

The house was originally a council house. The council created the covenant in the deeds. Which appears to directly contradict the latter part of your first paragraph.

I believe a land/property owner can place any restrictive covenant on building and land they wish before selling. Covenant restrictions can be lifted, not sure what the process is. We have restrictions on two of our buildings, no windows permitted on one side - there were windows but they have been boarded over. Suspect the covenant was put in place when the original plot was split up.

 

[Beesnaturally]

The house was originally a council house. The council created the covenant in the deeds. Which appears to directly contradict the latter part of your first paragraph.

You may just have succeeded in poking a hole in my assertion, with an obscure and 99.9% certainly irrelevant counter-example. Congratulations.

However you might well be wrong. I doubt planning officers get involved with private covenants even when the the council is one of the parties. To do so would be seen as being partial to the outcome.