UKH

After staying in and enjoying many huts over the years i've started dreaming of owning a bunkhouse.  Would consider any area of the UK, just needs to be remote-ish location as a family retreat.  Pipe dream would be to buy a ruin somewhere with access to UV cleanable water. I'd then stick on a roof, kit out with bunks and minimal solar for led lighting.  Cooking on gas.  Big sticking point (aside from my very limited budget!) would obviously be sewage, so any ideas on that front very welcome.

I understand most ruins one sees walking in UK were abandoned due to not having access to electricity and running water.  Obviously not a problem for my idea. But I'm interested in the planning issues involved in renovating such a ruin (assuming I find a landowner kind enough to sell).  Usage would be non commercial, and could be limited to < 30 days a year if that helps.  I understand if derelict property has no roof then it is not viewed as habitable in terms of planning.

Thanks Ukc hive mind

In reply to maxsmith:

https://www.cat.org.uk/info-resources/free-information-service/water-and-sa...

Composting toilet would be an option but from what I've heard it can be very tricky to obtain planning for these. 

In reply to maxsmith:

a)  almost all the remoter farms where I live in North Yorkshire were abandoned because they were becoming to unprofitable to run.  Most had a water source such as a spring or well.

b) composting toilet is one option and probably the cheaper option.  Most rural houses in Eire had their own well water  and their own sewerage system which varied from a simple large concrete chamber with one outlet to the ground.  Ours was like this and never gave us a problem.  There are a number of more sophisticated versions which are a little more expensive, and installation is little more than digging a hole down hill/slope from your Bothy.

In reply to maxsmith:

lots of help re toilets - much appreciated... but still need a planning expert

In reply to maxsmith:

Half been considering a bit of woodland and a hut. (Just don't tell the OH ) So like your idea.

Scotland based, planning etc different, but you might find some inspiration/information here http://www.thousandhuts.org/

In reply to maxsmith:

In the Olchon Valley behind my house there are loads of abandoned properties, a couple actually have mains electricity. Like us they all have springs as a water supply and all inhabited local homes use a septic tank of some sort but you could use a reed bed type system to clean sewage waste. I know someone locally who is doing this. Planning is a big problem in remote areas for renovating these old farmsteads for habitation as they apply the same criteria as they would in a more heavily populated location, e.g. being close to bus routes etc. Also, talking to one town based planning officer a while back he said he didn't like people restoring the abandoned farmsteads because he liked to see a ruin when he was out on his walks!

In reply to maxsmith: My son has just completed a Bothy conversion in Scotland. I helped but it did my back in! It is an old stone cowshed with a slate roof on an estate - they sorted planning etc. He insulated the shit out of the place, uses a generator with a solar panel for lekky, pumps water in from a nearby stream and has a composting toilet. Very cosy with great views. He is a forestry manager and used local contacts to get stuff like wood cladding cheap. Fantastic project.

In reply to maxsmith:

A micro sewage treatment plant is an option - about £15k from memory but does need a reasonable amount of electricity for the plant in them (stirring motor I think).  Electric supply would be an issue in winter.  I’m not sure how well they deal with very intermittent use.

Theres a few people in the USA who sell bacterial digesters with toilet coupling; no idea on legislation in the UK and again they’ll not like being rarely used.

Our local wildfowl and wetlands trust has a modern composting toilet so it is possible. I’d want it in a separate outhouse due to smells however!

You could have macerator and a waste tank that you empty periodically by vehicle.

Bimble solar sometimes have great deals on used solar panels - typically from early upgrades on big solar farms caused by some panels getting storm damaged.  Save money and materials by going for “in roof” panel mounting.  I’d put way more in than you need if you can possibly afford it.  More power is always useful, and it helps you through cloudy days and days far from summer.  A free standing mast with a 1 kw wind turbine on it would go a long way towards winter habitability.  If I was doing the energy system design I’d add the ability to take power from electric vehicles as another fallback for winter; we have similar at home but it’s too much of a bodge to be standardised or for me to be happy opening it to others.  Fast developing area though.

I’ve looked at all the ruins around me - one day in 50 years time with magic flying cars and the ever reducing cost of off grid living, they’re a potential goldmine - beyond my life expectancy probably...

Most UV water purifiers use very old school lamps that don’t survive being turned off and on regularly so you need to budget the power to keep it on 2;x7 throughout the season and to replace the lamp each year.  When I last looked LED based units were just coming to market in the USA - much better.  You’ll need sub-micron filtration before the UV, and you’ll need to be able to drain all the filters etc before an unheated winter period.

My biggest regret with a rainwater system is not having set it up with a submersible pump - when space is tight that’s a great space saver and reduces the number of couplings that can leak inside the building, as well as providing better ice protection than an unheated building.

In reply to RunningInCircles:

In England, buildings for use in forestry (commercial or private) are exempt from requiring planning permission...  Could be a tool store, a workshop etc.  You’d probably not be allowed to sleep in it on roll mats...

In reply to wintertree:

Shame...

I'm north of the border, so I will keep watching woods for sale in the right kinds of area

Given how close I am to the Cairngorm park, it's an indulgence I doubt I could get past the family. But the idea of a retreat maxsmith suggests has a real appeal.

In reply to wintertree:

Do you have any links places selling to LED based UV water treatment systems?  We're renovating an off grid house in the Yorkshire Dales and would prefer not to have to run a standard UV light the whole time!

OM

In reply to Owen Meany:

https://acuvatech.com/buy

There was another one I can’t find now.  More of a bottle shaped filter unit that didn’t have flow activation of the lights.  The other one was a higher flow rate so useful for baths etc not just drinking water.

In reply to wintertree:

Thank you!

In reply to Pekkie:

thanks pekkie sounds awesome, so did he buy the cowshed from the estate or just get permission to renovate? positive that planning was no issue...

In reply to maxsmith:

Downside - the estate would only negotiate long term lease, 25 years I think, but rent free.