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Communities

Book review: Rural Planning Handbook

    The
    Rural Planning Handbook

has a cover price of £25.  But £20 will secure it direct from the author, and cash in an envelope is also acceptable.  Now that’s what I call publishing.

There are many good things about the new edition of a key guide for self-builders and off-gridders trying to win planning permission to live in the countryside.

It is both a detailed and comprehensive survey of the main options and pitfalls for getting official permission to live an off-grid (or ‘low-impact’) existence in the most crowded parts of England, where property developers and farmers have failed to get their way, and rich neighbours jealously guard access to the byways and backwaters of this rich and fecund country.

But the best thing of all about the Rural Planning Handbook is that it is not available on Amazon. Yes, there are one or two copies available from dealers for £35, but the best way to buy it is to send a cheque for £20 to Chapter 7 – the campaigning organisation which is led by Simon Fairlie, author of the handbook. They also accept cash. Paypal by prior arrangement.

The book has been an important part of the armoury of hundreds, possibly thousands of planning applications and planning appeals over the past ten years.  It runs through the main processes that must be undertaken if you are to win your battle with the authorities, and prepares readers for the mental anguish they will undoubtedly experience.

There is a huge amount of well-organised information – see the table of contents below. Planning laws are so detailed and specific that the information is often bewildering, even though it is clearly presented by Fairlie, who has been writing on this subject for decades. 

What the book lacks is a series of case studies or general hypothetical situations, so that individuals can get to the details that apply specifically to their own circumstances instead of having to read between the lines to find what they need.  There should be living or fictionalised examples of situations such as living in an agricultural building,  buying a field, living in woodland, living in a caravan in a field or wood, living in a camper van etc. The informational content would not be any different but this way of organising it would make it much more accessible for non-experts.

Rural Planning Handbook – Contents page:

1. Introduction to the Mysteries of the Planning System
Understanding the mentality • An overview of the English planning system • Ground rules for an easy life • What should I do first — move on or apply for permission?
2 Permitted Development
What is and isn’t development? • What is permitted development? • A list of the most relevant permitted development rights
3 Making a Planning Application
Submitting a planning application • Putting in a convincing application • After submitting the …

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November 13, 2019 2 Comments

Innovative Tech For Living Off The Grid

Think smart devices and modern tech, what comes to mind is traceable, trackable and invasive devices that infringe our privacy. Not all tech is lousy tech though.  While the decision to go off-grid usually requires individuals to sacrifice a significant level of daily convenience, some innovations have been created to appease notable areas of living.

If you have made plans to go off the grid, it is highly likely that you are in search of devices that will keep your home powered, and add some level of convenience to your daily life without keeping you locked to the grid. This means you can ultimately enjoy the decision to go off-grid without having to sacrifice too many everyday luxuries, and with power solutions available from companies like Lion Energy, you can run more powered devices that bring convenience without compromise..

Admittedly it’s no easy task to look through the options and scrutinise the privacy policies and assurances. Still, to our mind, the only genuinely trustworthy devices are those without a connection to the web or any service that permits communication or traceable exchange. With that in mind, we bring you our top picks for great gear when living off-grid.

Small Solar Power Kit

There is something romantic about the idea of heating water and cooking food over an open flame. However, there is also an inherent risk for yourself and the environment around you. Wildfires are destructive, very difficult to put out once they spread and, obviously, dangerous. Therefore, the option of cooking and heating water with fire as a sole solution is not entirely practical, mainly because a small solar panel and battery combo can produce sufficient power to make use of a kettle and hotplate.

Given that you do decide to add additional tech to your kit, having a clean, renewable energy source with which to charge them is an excellent way to go. Using rechargeable lighting solutions are also preferable to using any fueled lighting, given the energy source is clean. Suppose your budget is welcoming to the idea of renewable energy. In that case, it is also a great idea to consider investing in solar panels and a battery backup system that will store unused power. Larger systems are quite pricey, although, starting small and building up your usage of solar energy is a plausible approach that most individuals opt for.

Custom Smart Media Player

For many, a WiFi-only tablet switched to aeroplane mode is enough, but some of us want to take our security and privacy a little further. A Raspberry Pi-based touch screen device is the perfect alternative. It is also a great way to familiarise yourself to custom hardware assembly, opening up a multitude of options for devices built to spec.

 

It may sound intimidating, but remember that you could order them premade as well. The thing about a setup like this …

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October 14, 2019 No Comments
Urban

Extinction Rebellion protests continue

Climate activists Extinction Rebellion continued their global “summer rebellion” in London and Munich today.

In London, the target was London Concrete, the British capital’s biggest supplier of ready-mixed concrete which supplies a major road tunnel project under the River Thames.

Dozens of activists holding a banner saying “The air that we grieve” blocked entrances to the site in east London, near the Olympic park. The group said it would disrupt the site for the day in an attempt to halt the expansion of the works.

“Concrete has a huge environmental impact and building another tunnel will only make air pollution across East London worse,” said Eleanor McAree, 25, from Extinction Rebellion.

“Air pollution is already at dangerous levels and is affecting the health of children and adults in the area.”

London Concrete is a unit of Franco-Swiss group LafargeHolcim. Local groups are expected to target LafargeHolcim facilities all across Europe and beyond. The Silvertown Tunnel under the Thames will link the Greenwich Peninsula and Silvertown.

Extinction Rebellion wants non-violent civil disobedience to force governments to cut carbon emissions and avert a climate crisis it says will bring starvation and social collapse.

On Monday it sought to sow chaos in five British cities as part of what it says is a “summer uprising”.The group blocked streets in London, Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol and Leeds on Monday.

Activists towed boats into carriageways to stop traffic, as members gave talks or performed music for those gathered.

The activists are pushing for local Government in each area to “act now” on climate change issues which they have highlighted, with details of further action expected later today.

Extinction Rebellion activists disrupted London with 11 days of protests in April that it cast as the biggest act of civil disobedience in recent British history. Iconic locations were blocked, the Shell building defaced, trains stopped and Goldman Sachs targeted. …

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July 16, 2019 1 Comment
Communities

Visiting Outback Prepper + Budget Prepping links

With one phone call, I’ve accidentally ended up in a survival caravan fit out for a nuclear holocaust. But within days, I’m converted, and perhaps you should be too.

It’s pitch dark in a way you only get in the bush as I arrive at the property of a man I met an hour ago.

“This is my base”, he says. “I have everything you need.”

Peering through the darkness, I realise he means it. There’s chickens, a veggie garden that’d put WholeFoods Market to shame, solar panels and septic tanks. And then, “what’s in the basement?”

“Six months of fuel and some basic weapons.”

“Weapons?!”

“Just basic ones.”

Suddenly, I realise what this charming bush cottage actually is.

It’s a “bug out” — a well-equipped base that survivalists keep ready for when “TSHTF” (the shit hits the fan).

And this man? He’s a “prepper” — someone who’s turned “prepping” for disaster into a way of life.

He had needed someone to drive his second car from Perth to the desert, where he lived, deep in a national park, for half of each year — a friend asked could I help him?

I couldn’t resist the lure of a new escapade — my flight (and shower) would have to wait a little longer.

Now, I’m faced with the vehicle we’ll drive 17 hours into the outback tomorrow: a floral-patterned 1970s caravan, full of supplies for a nuclear holocaust.

And I’ll be living out of this caravan-cross-bunker for the next 10 days.

I lift the bed to stash my bags underneath. There’s two months of tinned food and an axe.

I open a cupboard beside the bed. An avalanche of toothbrushes and dental floss rains down on me.

Crouched on the caravan floor, gathering up the toothbrushes like an apocalyptic “pick-up sticks”, I stare up at the prepper, waiting for an explanation.

“Gum health and heart disease are linked,” he says. “No-one ever thinks about dental floss. You’re holding apocalypse gold there.”

In my Gollum-crouch, I grab the floss and try to imagine a world where that could be “my precious”.

I’m not convinced it’s a world I want to live in. But in a few days, that all changes.

Aussies are getting ‘prepped’

“Doomsday prepping”, or “survivalism”, is on the rise.

This is despite “preppers” being widely met with ridicule or fear (as the , prepping reality TV shows “are full of people lovingly cradling their weaponry, which in many cases is frighteningly extensive”).

Preppers make themselves easy targets, between the YouTube tutorials on how to make a crossbow from a ski, and the graded sequence of Mary-Poppins-meets-Bear-Grylls survival bags.

If you’re a minimalist prepper who’s just read Marie Kondo, you might get by with just the BOB (“) and the INCH (“). And yes, preppers have more acronyms than the public service.

As we dragged our catastrophe-caravan to the …

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July 16, 2019 1 Comment
Communities

Timber Festival UK – Review


Daisy Stella Baldwin reports from Leicestershire….

It was raining hard when we arrived at Timber Festival 2019; a three-day festival of music, arts and performance taking place​ in Feanedock within the National Forest.

Offering the chance to unplug and reconnect with nature, there were a whole host of off-grid delights waiting under the trees. Immersive theatre, world music, fireside talks and woodland wellness – the festival promised an opportunity to reflect and connect with other people and families living off-grid.

Run by the National Forest (Add link www.nationalforest.org/), the festival is an opportunity to demonstrate the vital work they do, turning what was once an area scarred by coal mining into a growing and thriving forest, the first to be created in England for over 1,000 years.

Unbowed by the rain, we installed ourselves in a cosy hammock beneath swaying birch trees and borrowed books from the little ‘Woodland library’. Safely nestled in our hammock, sheltered from the rain by the trees above, we were reminded that being close to nature is often a humbling experience, an invigorating contrast to the more comfortable lives we have carved out for ourselves in the city.

The weather quickly cleared up and we enjoyed a delightful festival of food, fun and fantasy that felt much longer than the two days we spent there. Certainly, returning to work on Monday I have never felt more peaceful and positive than after spending the weekend at Timber Festival, enjoying a great variety of vegan treats and hearing from a diverse range of speakers and performers. Food for thought as well as the body.

OUR OFF-GRID HIGHLIGHTS

Otto & the Mutapa calling

We stumbled across this wonderful marimba band playing by the fire pit in the As the Crow Flies area. Dancing and playing music from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, they infused the audience with their joyful energy. Listening to these talented performers using only the power of their own voices and acoustic instruments was a magical moment of connection and celebration.

Wonderlandia forest spa

Now this was something special; a wholly mobile and outdoor spa experience, run completely off-grid. Slots were bookable on the day for £25, or £10 just to enter the sauna (cleverly built into a caravan). It felt incredibly luxurious to recline in the red cedar wood hot tub in the midst of the forest and was definitely a festival highlight. After a long soak in the tub we tumbled into the caravan sauna where we were shown how to add steam scented with eucalyptus oil and amp up the heat by whipping a cloth around above the stove. Sheer indulgent bliss.

The Oak Mobile

The very last experience we had, on our way out of the festival, was a trip inside the unusual ‘Oak mobile’ for a piece of ‘micro theatre’ run by Talking Birds. Joining a small group of seven …

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July 11, 2019 No Comments
Communities

Extinction Rebellion founder says we must topple the political elites

The driving force behind Extinction Rebellion has said the group will shortly announce a co-ordinated global action in 40 countries.
“There is going to be a rebellion in America this Autumn,” Roger Hallam told us in an extended video interview from his new office in London, where he started work less than a week ago.

Hallam, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, gave a one-hour interview explaining why XR was launched, talking about his own background and how XR will achieve its goal of zero carbon in ten years.
“As far as I’m concerned, the political class has to be removed from power,” he said as he sipped water and joked about the impact XR is having on the nations’ leaders. “At least they think they have to co-opt us,” he said.
“From the get-go you knew we were onto some major political explosion. Now we’re on the cusp. On Monday or Tuesday the UK is going to declare a rebellion episode…against the British government.”

The new rebellion will be another series of stoppages across major towns and cities. “We’re looking at broadly repeating what we did in April, but on a far bigger scale. This is big. This isn’t some XR hippie routine.”

Hallam said he already had support from Trade Unions, Gay groups, Christians and many other Eco-organisations and others.

Extinction Rebellion is well on the way to becoming a global phenomenon, now in 40 countries and expanding every day. Millions are pouring into their coffers, including from the band Radiohead and from tech millionaires as well as thousands of small contributions. Next week the central steering group will begin dispersing that money to the local groups worldwide. Living off-grid, and campaigning for others to do so, is just one way to make your contribution to the future security of the planet. Another way is to join the XR actions in your local area. In a long interview with Nick Rosen, editor of Off-Grid.net Hallam declared “the political class are gonna do everything apart from anything. As far as I am concerned they have to be removed from power.”…

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June 28, 2019 No Comments
Spirit

Scotland’s multiple off-grid opportunities

The sparkling glens and mountains of Scotland boasts a wide choice of off-grid holiday accommodation and if you fall in love with the lifestyle there are many off-grid homes and jobs jobs that could make your stay a lifelong one.

The remote community of Scoraig is looking for a teacher and there are always numerous jobs as gamekeepers, loggers and crofters.

Scotland is the perfect place for those keen to explore the great outdoors. From eco glamping to living like a laird and lady, here’s a pick of where to stay.

Try the island of Tiree

Were it not for the charming croft cottages, the disarming Hebridean accents and the inimitable grass coverage of Scottish dunes, anyone on Tiree might easily imagine themselves on Hawaii. This is in fact Scotland – the most westerly of the Inner Hebrides has long, white-sand beaches, plentiful hours of sunshine and excellent surfing and windsurfing. Being within tickle’s reach of the Gulf Stream means the waters are startling not for their cold but their warmth.

Accommodation is mainly B&B or self-catering.

Traditional Yurts

The Three Trossachs Yurts offer cosy glamping in a picturesque setting.

Each circular dwelling sleeps up to four adults or a family of five and are decorated with thick rugs and soft furnishings.

This experience is all about being off-grid, so it’s self-catering only, but there are plenty of options for cooking your own meals.

www.trossachsyurts.com

Caravan Cavalcade

The six French roulottes that make up Roulotte Retreat can be found in the idyllic surroundings of a wildflower meadow in the Borders.

The roulottes – hand-crafted, Romany-style, wooden caravans – are colourful, stylish and quirky, and come equipped with modern comforts.

The setting is just as impressive, offering easy access to the towns of Melrose, Selkirk, Jedburgh and Galashiels, with the River Tweed flowing nearby.

www.roulotteretreat.com

Life in a lighthouse

Sumburgh Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse on Shetland and featured in the Shetland TV drama.

The self-catering accommodation is sited within the complex of lighthouse buildings on the majestic cliffs and is finished to a high standard.

It’s particularly popular with holidaymakers during the summer months. www.shetlandlighthouse.com ECO PODS

In the shadow of a castle

The two wooden eco pods at Craskie Estate are perfectly placed for stunning loch views and soaking up the beauty of the Highlands.

Efficient insulation and low wattage electrics mean a minimal carbon footprint but there is no shortage of luxury touches.

Sleeping up to four people, each pod has its own decked terrace – ideal for al fresco dining.

www.craskieestate.com

Off-Grid jobs

And while you are in Scotland, consider a visit to the remote community of Scoraig, which is currently looking for a teacher for its primary school.

The locals say it’s the least stressful job in teaching but the post has fallen vacant three times in the past five years. The school’s head teacher is …

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June 26, 2019 No Comments
Communities

Off-Grid woman storms Minister’s speech

One of the Greenpeace protesters who forced their way into the UK Chancellor’s Mansion House speech last night lives on an off-grid rabbit farm in rural Wales.

The activist – Janet Barker  –  was pushed against a column and held around the neck by Tory junior minster Mark Field before he marched her out of the room last night.

Barker was at the forefront of an attempt in 2017 to immobilise thousands of VW diesel cars by climbing aboard the ship they were imported on in the Thames, with the intention of stealing all the keys.

Mrs Barker, originally from Wigan, lives in a 12.5 acre farm in rural Wales with her husband Peter, and they run a business knitting items from the wool of the Angora rabbit.

The firm’s website says that the couple moved to the farm as part of a ‘long term plan to live on a low impact, sustainable smallholding,’ and stay in a small, zero carbon house, powered entirely by renewable energy.’…

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June 21, 2019 1 Comment
Communities

Customise your favourite outdoor gear

A kayaker and his brother painted shark jaws on the front of their kayak. A long-distance cyclist attached mirrors and lights to his handlebars and frame. RV campers often customise by adding portable solar panels to recharge their camper batteries.

No matter what sets you free in the outdoors, you can make the outdoors your own by customizing your gear. With summer here, now is the time.

Across the spectrum, here are some ideas how to make your outdoor gear your own, plus somesecrets that can help every trip. I have employed many of these.

Vehicles

The fastest way to make your vehicle your own is to add a rack or two — that is, racks for bicycles, kayaks or camping supplies. If you have a pickup truck, you can build a bike rack out of PVC pipe or buy a kit with a steel rack to fit in the back. Add a rubber nonskid bed liner, and you’re ready to head out. Racks are made to fit on top of SUVs, cars and pickups with camper shells, and also in hitch mounts designed for the front or back of rigs.

or long miles, you can add seat support for perfect posture and lumbar reinforcement. You can upgrade your tires for off-pavement use, add a loud horn to ward off wildlife along the road ahead (they don’t know you’re coming, of course), and strap an altimeter watch to the rearview mirror.

One cool customization is to mount as-bright-as-possible fog lights out front, rigged with a set-aside interior switch. On two-laners, when oncoming traffic is approaching in your lane or it looks like someone on a side road could pull out in front of you, flip on those lights to get their attention.

Pro tip: When a vehicle rolls to a stop at a diagonal with the potential to turn in front of you, watch the wheels and not the relative motion of the vehicle. If the wheels are turning, the vehicle has not stopped.

Cycling/mountain biking

On your handlebars, mount a phone holder (you can track your rides), trip computer, strobe light and mirrors. On your seat, mount a flat repair kit, blinking red light and an LED red/orange light and reflector. Brent Jacinto, with more than 40,000 miles and no accidents, taught me this. One of his bikes even has red tires. Keep a CO2-powered inflator in your kit to inflate a repaired tire in the field. Get the ergonomics of your seat and handlebar heights perfect, where bigger people can use spacers to raise the handlebars; it should feel near effortless to pedal and propel forward.

Pro tip: Do not mount a bell or horn on your handlebars with the intent to get walkers out of your way. It is not their responsibility to avoid you. They have the right of way. Slow or stop, call out, “On …

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June 17, 2019 No Comments
Communities

Off-Grid Editor on BBC2 chat show

The editor of Off-Grid.net is appearing on BBC2 Victoria Derbyshire show, shortly, in a piece about a family of 4 who went to live off the grid in Wales.

The slot featured the ways to create energy including biodigester gas, and the difficulty of getting planning permission. Editor Nick Rosen spoke about the need for all new homes in the UK to be built off the grid. He said it was easy and cheap to do, and the other panellists agreed with him that off-grid communities had a better chance of success than single households.

Nick Rosen is currently setting uo an off-grid community in Majorca. you can apply to join him there.

Contact nick at nick@off-grid.net…

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June 17, 2019 No Comments

Bitcoin Mining Off The Grid: Is Solar Power The Answer?

Some of the first big server farms devoted to bitcoin were located in the frozen wastes of Finland.  Why?  Because cooling  costs are minimised when the servers are packed into below ground containers.  But in general, the biggest thing holding back eco-enthusiasts who want to buy BTC, is how much
energy the mining uses. It is very environmentally unfriendly  to get involved with crypto as it relies largely on fossil fuels.
However, that seems poised to change as the price of bitcoin has opened up the possibility to use renewables. With the value of Bitcoin soaring above $20,000 at the moment it means that there can be alternatives to mining. Solar power is not the most consistent in areas where the servers currency operate but that might not be enough to hold it back at this point. Even though we don’t love solar farms, this might provide a solution.

Let’s be honest. The driving force in bitcoin mining is not going to be trying to find a smaller carbon footprint, it will be the cost to mine the coins. Right now, since the computing power required to verify the transactions, also known as mining, is so great it costs a lot to operate.
The only way that switching to solar is going to be viable is if the price is right. There are two things that are working in favor of solar at the moment. One is the value of bitcoin these days. Well above $20,000 in value, it can absorb some higher energy costs and
still be worth mining.

This means that if they had to go somewhere like California to take over the mining energy required then it could still make sense. And farms could be constructed just for the mining operations so it is not going to add to the grid. It would be the same as installing a solar panel on your home to provide you with the energy that you need without needing to be part of the grid.
The other aspect is that solar energy is finally very inexpensive. If you wanted to mine bitcoin and invest in some of the computers you could do so with a good solar power set up if you live in the right part of the world.

Where it makes sense
There are a lot of sunny areas in the world where mining could theoretically take place. However, there are many logistical challenges and this is what is holding back the implementing of solar as the preferred way to power mining. One of which is the infrastructure required to provide the energy is generally lacking in many areas. Many countries in the equatorial region are developing and not ready to
provide a stable energy source.
The other issue is the heat itself. It uses almost as much energy to cool the servers as it does to mine …

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January 18, 2019 No Comments

In Spain – Crackdown or Backdown?

The Spanish authorities are boasting they increased the number of cannabis plants seized in the past year – but that still only amounts to a move from from hardly any to very few indeed given the size of the population.

The Guardian Civil took down 9,200 plants last year from 700 arrests across the entire nation, but the main reason for the 67% rise over the previous year was one bust of 3500 plants in Cantabria this September.

Huge resources are being dedicated to tracking down the illegal growers, thereby forgoing one of the main benefits of cannabis legalisation – freeing up police time for more important things. Like stealing electricity – which is a crime that often goes hand in hand with illegal growing.

Prior to decriminalisation, it was easy for the police to visit a site and take a look. Now, the procedures are complicated and the Guardia Civil officers need to track and collect evidence before the judicial authority will give permission to enter.

Statistics confirms that the profile of the plantation owners, is increasingly from the networks of organized crime. …

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December 23, 2018 1 Comment