Permissions for eco build (straw-bale house)

[RikJarney]

Hello eco-warriors and alternative house builders

We have been living off-grid, in Spain, in the Alpujarra mountains for several years now. And we think it might be time for a bit of a change. We like the idea of buying a sizeable plot of land in el campo and building an eco-friendly straw-bale house. It would not be a hippie-dwelling (not that there is anything wrong with that - just not what we want) but a modern construction that utilises materials in the best way to retain heat in winter, and to be cool in summer, etc.

A few immediate hurdles might be (i) finding such a plot of land, preferably with its own water source, and where building permissions would be given, and (ii) getting permission to build such a type of dwelling.

We would prefer not to live in a protected area (e.g. park), as the restrictions are too many. I expect there are a certain number of restrictions that apply everywhere though.

Does anybody have any info on this or know where to look?

Thanks.

[gavilan]

The only person I know who has built something using materials such as you describe lives near Zafarraya in Granada province and he built a one story dwelling to avoid needing permission ... I can send you his email address if you think he might be a useful contact ...

[Lavanda]

It sounds a really interesting project but no one has built a house like that here because of the risk of fire in the campo. I doubt you would get insurance but that may not be a consideration for you. I do have some super books on eco-friendly design and build and the houses featured look individual, interesting and very functional. Good luck with your project.

[El Cid]

Bearing in mind that it is now almost impossible to get planning permission to build a conventional house in the campo, I very much doubt that you would be successful with a straw house.

As for the suggestion that a single storey house avoids the need for permission, that is a fairy story!

Sid

[costakid]

single story and you need no permission, I don't think so.

[RikJarney]

Thanks for the replies all.
Hm, not easy.
'They', meaning the authorities, seem hell bent on making people's lives more and more difficult, and are trying to squeeze whatever they can out of us with so many ridiculous and unnecessary laws and bureaucracy - a lot happening here in Spain but elsewhere too, I'm sure. I haven't lived in the UK for so long that I'm out of touch with things there but I'm sure it's not much different...

Bearing in mind that it is now almost impossible to get planning permission to build a conventional house in the campo, I very much doubt that you would be successful with a straw house.
Sid

Why is is almost impossible to get planning permission these days?
Some friends who bought tons of land have been told they can't rebuild the ruin on it, but can use it for an agricultural business!

I fear it may be part of Agenda 21... which seems geared to move people into urban settings for ease of management.

The world seems to be rapidly going pear-shaped.

[Nimrod]

Thanks for the replies all.
Hm, not easy.
'They', meaning the authorities, seem hell bent on making people's lives more and more difficult, and are trying to squeeze whatever they can out of us with so many ridiculous and unnecessary laws and bureaucracy - a lot happening here in Spain but elsewhere too, I'm sure. I haven't lived in the UK for so long that I'm out of touch with things there but I'm sure it's not much different...

UK...quite the reverse.

[RikJarney]

UK...quite the reverse.

Can you elaborate on that please.
Do local authorities in the UK actually allow or encourage and give permission for environmentally friendly new builds in the countryside?

I know where the Spanish authorities would like to take us people, my concern is that they will actually do so.
Before Spain, I lived in Scandanavia for many years, then several years in the Gulf of Arabia, not a bastion of democracy nor my kind of lifestyle, but a good place to earn some money to enable us to come to Spain. But I find liberal, democratic Europe quite authoritarian now, not at all what I was expecting. Every aspect of the system seems geared not to assist the population in well-being. health, job-creation, etc, but to fleece people through taxes and other means to pay of the (private) debts the country finds itself owing.

Once again, though, can you elaborate on what you mean about the UK being 'quite the reverse. Thanks.

[Nimrod]

Google eco building in UK countryside....

[El Cid]

Why is is almost impossible to get planning permission these days?

In rural areas they are trying to protect those rural areas from overbuilding.

Try applying for permission to build a straw house in the middle of the Surrey Green Belt. I think you will be shown the door far faster than you will be in Spain.

Sid

[Manchesteral]

UK...quite the reverse.

Can you elaborate on that please.
Do local authorities in the UK actually allow or encourage and give permission for environmentally friendly new builds in the countryside?

I know where the Spanish authorities would like to take us people, my concern is that they will actually do so.
Before Spain, I lived in Scandanavia for many years, then several years in the Gulf of Arabia, not a bastion of democracy nor my kind of lifestyle, but a good place to earn some money to enable us to come to Spain. But I find liberal, democratic Europe quite authoritarian now, not at all what I was expecting. Every aspect of the system seems geared not to assist the population in well-being. health, job-creation, etc, but to fleece people through taxes and other means to pay of the (private) debts the country finds itself owing.

Once again, though, can you elaborate on what you mean about the UK being 'quite the reverse. Thanks.

Hi Rik, where were you in Scandinavia ?

[Nimrod]

Why is is almost impossible to get planning permission these days?

In rural areas they are trying to protect those rural areas from overbuilding.

Try applying for permission to build a straw house in the middle of the Surrey Green Belt. I think you will be shown the door far faster than you will be in Spain.

Sid

Again,google Surrey green belt planning permission and look at the second entry.
200 houses,albeit not straw,but I'm equally sure eco built in some way,...that's not small beer.

[El Cid]

That is a very specific case in the UK and hardly representative of the general Green Belt planning rules in the UK.

There will inevitably be similar exceptions in Spain, particularly if government land is involved (or some plot owned by the local mayor).

Sid

[Nimrod]

Quite agree Sid,it may happen occasionally in Spain that self interest from the mayor may bend the rules.
I still say you stand more chance with a UK borough planning department.

[Lavanda]

Don't bother trying in Gloucestershire. My OH has land which sits alongside a proposed housing development area. Can he build even a moveable wooden, environmentally friendly shed ...er ... no!

[RikJarney]

where were you in Scandinavia ?

Stockholm.
Why do you ask?

[RikJarney]

In rural areas they are trying to protect those rural areas from overbuilding.

Really, in Spain?
There is SO MUCH undeveloped rural land in Spain doing nothing that such a reason cannot be true.

Maybe certain areas need protection from development but not the vast swathes of the countryside, and certainly not when people wish to invest money and effort into doing something positive for the environment and country. Bringing people into certain areas can often positively benefit those areas.

Furthermore 'development' isn't all the same. A shopping complex in a certain location is not the same as eco-friendly houses.

So the authorities are either totally useless and incompetent in this regard, or there is some other agenda - that they may not even be aware of but is imposed down.

Rik

[El Cid]

There is SO MUCH undeveloped rural land in Spain doing nothing that such a reason cannot be true.

Of course there is loads of undeveloped land all over Spain, but no one wants to live in those areas. If you look at the rural land along the costas there are thousands of houses (mostly illegal) creeping all over the countryside.

Also, there is little requirement for new homes as they have hundreds of thousands lying empty because of overbuilding in the boom years and the population of Spain is dropping every year.

Sid