An Introduction to Building a Cabin in Woodland
Owning a piece of woodland and creating a cabin immersed in nature is a dream shared by many of our clients. Whether you’re seeking a peaceful retreat, a place to manage your woodland or the opportunity to develop something more ambitious, woodland projects have a unique appeal.
It’s also one of the most common topics we’re asked about. The reality, however, is that there is no simple answer. Every woodland is different, and what may be possible depends on the location, the status of the land, its intended use and the relevant planning policies.
Rather than offering generic advice or speculation, we prefer to understand each project properly before recommending the most appropriate route forward. The guidance below provides an introduction to some of the key considerations, but every project should be assessed on its own merits.
How are you planning to use your cabin in the woods?
If you own a piece of woodland you are allowed to build a cabin on this land for occasional use in order to maintain or work on the woodland. This might take the form of a tool shed; store; office; refuge or shelter. This would be allowed under Permitted Development but permission must be obtained from the local planning authority. However, the cabin cannot be used solely for leisure or educational purposes, it must primarily have a practical forestry purpose.
Dwellings
Getting permission for a dwelling in a woodland is extremely rare. There have been a few successful cases that have gained permission involving charcoal burners in the woodland which need 24-hour care but these permissions are very rare and they have only been granted to full-time foresters. If you were managing your woodland for primarily recreational reasons, or even conservation reasons, in all likelihood permission would be denied.
Permitted Development does allow you to build a well-designed structure (of a certain size) and stay there ‘occasionally’ for up to 28 nights of the year. However, our understanding of this rule is that your reason to stay there must be for seasonal forestry purposes. For example, using your cabin as an overnight refuge whilst you manage and maintain the woodland.
You can find some really useful information, articles and resources at Woodland.co.uk and in particular on their page about woodlands planning legislation
Planning Permission for Agricultural Land
On a related note, if you’re looking at ‘green site’ agricultural land, a full planning application is required. You would need to prove that a cabin is required to support agricultural purposes, or meet national planning policy objectives for your area.
Certainly, in terms of agriculture land, you may be able to take a longer view with a planning strategy and have multiple stages but this is dependent on land ownership, location in the UK, land use and planning policies
Next steps
Life Space Cabins has experience in providing planning guidance but we never claim to be experts. a planning consultant (local to you) is best placed to guide you through the planning process and score the likeliness for your requirements.
When Life Space Cabins can help in more detail
Once you have this guidance as well as land, a budget and an idea of what you wish to build for your cabin space we can help assist with the cabin design, planning drawings, design access statements for the planning application.
For your land search we can direct you to:
● www.woodlands.co.uk – apparently there is an informative facebook group you can join.
● https://www.woods4sale.co.uk/
● Sign up to local land agents such as Savills
For planning advice
Refer to the Planning Portal for up to date advice and information. As we said above it’s always best to seek professional advice from a planning consultant in your area.
This page aims to promote an awareness of the route through planning for a smaller space, but it is not intended to constitute advice. Every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct at the date of publication and to avoid any statement which may mislead. However, no duty of care is assumed to any person and no liability is accepted for any omission or inaccuracy. Always seek specific professional advice.
