Smallholding Logistics - Planning the BIG Move
Moving to a smallholding is no easy feat. Especially when you have what seems like one million animals already packed into your 3-bed terrace. Or when the farm is a four-hour round trip away. Oh, and when there’s nowhere to actually live when you get there!
Beautiful landscapes but not a house in sight
It’s fair to say that trying to work out HOW to get to our smallholding has been a challenge. In Britain, it’s not as easy as buying a caravan, plonking it on agricultural land and moving in. In fact, that’s totally illegal. So if we want the planners on side for our future dream house build, things have to be done by the book.
I would love to sell our house, drive two hours into the countryside and set up residence. However, can you imagine doing that with a car of two dogs, a cat, 50-odd poultry, 4 rabbits, a ferret and more? It’s like something out of a Gerald Durrell novel. I have enough grey hairs already. The thought of doing such a move in a single day puts the fear of god into me. And with the majority of our money tied up in the house, there’s no way to trudge through all the planning applications, utility connections and construction without coming out the other side bankrupt. Plus we have fencing to erect, chicken tractors to make, electric wires to buy and a whole host of other costs.
So, the solution?
Renting.
People think we’re mad. After all, we’re already on the property ladder and we’re giving that up to go into a rental. But wait, hear me out. It honestly makes logical sense as long as we remain focused and determined on the goal ahead. Short-term rental could be a huge advantage in our case as it will allow us to sell the house, free up the equity and continue our dream build whilst still having a roof over our heads. It means we can rent a couple of months in advance too. This lets us move our belongings up in bits whilst setting up the required pens, coops and enclosures on the farm
There’s A LOT of work to do before we’re move-in ready
for our current animals. The latter will not be too much work as’re using pasture-based rotational grazing so it’s coops on wheels, lots of electric netting and a guard donkey too (oh heck, that’s reminded me … I need to buy some donkeys). We’ll have a warm, dry and inhabitable place to return too after long days working and a place to zonk when the stress gets too much.
Moving a menagerie can be a complicated affair
Of course, there are pitfalls. We’re pushing our hard earned money into someone else’s pockets…but that shouldn’t be for long. My main concern is not being on-site to care and protect the animals. However, planners don’t even see that as an argument to build on ag-land anymore due to technological advances in cameras and alarm systems.
Now we have ‘less’ to arrange, both Saad and I are slightly more relaxed. There is still a lot to do, however, and this winter we need to build pheasant aviaries, at least 5 chicken tractors and coops, source and build a polytunnel and purchase a shed-load of equipment. But, honestly, that seems way less madness that driving towards East Anglia with a car of belongings, a frightened townie husband and a ferret trying to escape through the driver’s window.