Agricultural to equestrian: why it is a change of use
Equestrian use falls outside the definition of agriculture in section 336. That single point decides the application, and it also removes agricultural permitted development from the holding.
An equestrian change of use is needed because horses kept for riding are not agriculture, and the reason sits in one definition rather than in policy. Section 336 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 defines agriculture to include the breeding and keeping of livestock, and livestock means creatures kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of their use in the farming of the land. A horse pulling a plough qualifies. A horse carrying a rider does not.
That is why an application for stables on a farm is assessed as a change of use rather than as a farm building, and why the agricultural permitted development rights that made the rest of the holding easy to develop stop working on the land concerned.
The definition, read closely
Three phrases in section 336 do the work.
"Livestock" is defined by purpose, not by species. The same animal can be livestock or not depending on why it is kept. A herd of mares bred for meat is livestock. The same mares kept for competition are not.
"The use of land as grazing land" is expressly within agriculture, and it is not qualified by what is doing the grazing. This is the reason horses on a field can be lawful without anything at all.
"Farming of the land" ties working animals back to an agricultural operation. It does not cover exercise, recreation or sport.
Put together, the definition draws a line between the land feeding the animal and the land housing the activity. Everything else in an equestrian application follows from which side of that line the facts fall.
Grazing, keeping and the middle ground
Grazing is the horse taking its feed from the sward. Keeping is the land being the base for the animal and everything that goes with it.
The signs a council looks for are ordinary and easy to photograph. A field with a hard standing gateway, a haynet, rugs, a muck heap, jumps, a tack container, a horsebox parked inside the gate and daily vehicle movements is being used for keeping horses. A field with a water trough and nothing else is not.
Numbers help but do not decide it. A stocking density far above what the land could feed points strongly towards keeping, because the animals are plainly being sustained from outside the holding. Beyond that, councils and inspectors look at the character of the activity as a whole.
Mixed use is the awkward case. Where a farm keeps cattle and also runs a small livery, the land may be in a mixed agricultural and equestrian use, which is itself a distinct planning unit. Describe it as a mixed use in the application rather than trying to force it into one label, because a mixed use description is easier to defend later.
What the change costs you elsewhere
This is the part that gets missed, and for a working farm it can matter more than the stables themselves.
Agricultural permitted development in Part 6 of the General Permitted Development Order applies to agricultural land forming part of an agricultural unit, with different rights depending on the size of the unit. Land in equestrian use is not agricultural land, so it does not count towards the area of the unit and cannot be developed under Part 6.
The Class Q right to convert an agricultural building to dwellings depends on the building having been in agricultural use on a stated qualifying date, and on the use history since. Convert a barn to stabling and the Class Q route closes.
Rating and taxation follow their own rules and do not track the planning position, so business rates on a livery yard, agricultural relief and VAT treatment all need separate advice. The planning definition governs planning only.
The practical lesson: before turning any part of a holding over to horses, work out which buildings and which fields you may want to develop under Part 6 or Class Q later, and keep those in genuine agricultural use.
Making the application
An equestrian change of use application is a minor application with an eight week determination period, and the assessment covers four things.
- The principle of the use in that location, against the local plan's countryside and rural diversification policies. Equestrian use is generally regarded as an appropriate countryside use, which is a strong starting point.
- Landscape and visual effect, which is about the paraphernalia as much as the buildings: fencing type, arena surfacing, jump storage, horsebox parking and lighting.
- Highways. Set out honest movement numbers in a Transport Statement, separating owner trips from client trips, deliveries and farrier or vet visits, and deal with the field gate visibility.
- Amenity, meaning odour and flies from muck storage, noise from a school or arena in use, and lighting spill towards neighbouring dwellings.
Put the analysis in a Planning Statement that states plainly which parts of the proposal are the change of use and which are operational development. Case officers assess those separately, and applications that blur them get incomplete reports.
Include a plan showing the planning unit. Where only part of a holding is changing use, edge that part in red and the rest of the ownership in blue, and describe in words where the boundary between agricultural and equestrian land falls. If you want to see which supporting documents a rural application usually needs, the report types grouped by category is the quickest way to check.
The stables themselves
A change of use permission does not authorise a building. Stables, a tack room, a hay barn and any hardstanding are operational development and are applied for at the same time, on the same forms, but assessed on their own terms.
Design for a rural building rather than a domestic one. Low eaves, a simple pitched roof, dark stained timber boarding, and a position tucked against existing built form or a mature hedge. Councils object to stable blocks that read as the first stage of a house, so avoid domestic windows, chimneys and rendered walls, and be ready for a condition removing permitted development rights for further alteration.
Where an existing agricultural building is being reused, say whether any external alteration is proposed. Reusing a barn without changing it is usually a change of use alone, and that is a much simpler application than one involving new openings and a new roof covering.
Where the use is already established
Many yards have been running for a decade without anyone applying for anything. The right route there is a certificate of lawful existing use under section 191 of the 1990 Act, not a retrospective planning application.
The difference matters. A certificate application turns on fact: has the use continued, without material interruption, for the relevant period. Planning merits are irrelevant. A retrospective application puts the merits back in issue and can be refused.
Assemble the evidence before applying. Continuous dated records covering every year of the period, from more than one source, with a statutory declaration from someone who can speak to the whole period. Councils refuse these applications on gaps, and a gap of a year in the middle of a decade is fatal.
This is general guidance rather than legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. To see the documents a change of use application is likely to need, start with the postcode of the land.
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Frequently asked questions
Are horses livestock for planning purposes?
Only when they are kept for the purposes of farming the land, for instance a working draught horse. The definition in section 336 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 covers creatures kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for use in the farming of the land. A riding horse, a competition horse or a retired horse falls outside it.
Can I keep horses on my field without permission at all?
Yes, if they are simply grazing. The use of land as grazing land is agriculture under the statutory definition, so a field grazed by horses stays in agricultural use. What changes the position is keeping them there, which shows itself in supplementary feeding, rugs, jumps, hardstanding, muck heaps and daily attendance.
Does equestrian use have a use class?
No. The Use Classes Order does not classify equestrian uses, so they are sui generis. That has two consequences. Any change from agriculture, or from one equestrian use to a materially different one such as private to commercial livery, is a material change of use. And there is no permitted change into or out of it under the General Permitted Development Order.
Will equestrian use stop me converting a barn under Class Q?
It can. The Class Q right depends on the building having been in agricultural use on a stated qualifying date and, where later built, for a period before the application. A barn given over to stabling stops being in agricultural use, and the right falls away. Establish the use history before assuming a conversion route exists.
What evidence proves an equestrian use is lawful?
Dated and continuous evidence across the whole relevant period: aerial imagery, feed and bedding invoices, farrier and veterinary records, livery agreements, insurance documents, council tax or business rates records and sworn statements from people with direct knowledge. Gaps in the record are what defeat these applications, not the strength of any single document.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.