We understand the equestrian world, having horses of our own.
Most people are unaware of planning requirements, when considering extending existing stables, providing new buildings, providing Ménage or Arena facilities, or even just extending an existing area of yard or hardstanding, but generally speaking planning permission would be required for everything mentioned above.
By their very nature, most Equestrian facilities, lie within areas designated as Green Belt, but many also fall within National Park, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and even Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and these are all likely to have their own Special Planning Policies. If the land on which you are proposing to develop is leasehold or rented, you will almost always be required to gain permission from the owners of the lease or the landlord as well.
The Local Development Plans of each Planning Authority, vary in accordance with their own local needs, which means that in many cases, the guidelines for equestrian development in one Planning Authority can be quite different to the guidelines in a neighbouring area. Typically the Local Development Plan will be revised every 10 to 15 years or so, but during the life of the plan, individual planning guidelines can and do change, to meet the new needs of the area. This often means that what was acceptable a couple of years ago, may now be viewed as unacceptable and therefore relying on the experience of a friend or neighbour could well be unreliable.