The Allotment Chronicles

There must be something in the air as I've just received another book about allotments, The Allotment Chronicles by Steve Poole (with a forward by Terry Walton, the allotment chap ono Jeremy Vine's BBC Radio 2 show). It's essentially a history of the allotment, concentrating particularly on the early years and you can read more about it at Silver Link Publishing's site here. Sheds don't make much of an appearance but I know many homeworkers are keen allotmenteers too.

Working in woodland sheds - part 2

[from Smallwoods magazine - see earlier post for details]

"Julian Evans has written about planning in his book Badgers, Beeches and Blisters, summarising his experiences as he's found some variation among planning authorities. 'What you can do in your wood by way of accommodation is camp there or site a caravan for up to 28 days,' he writes. Permitted development also includes a secure tool shed, provided it is sited well away from a highway, but even here one needs to be a little careful. A shed must be a shed - a small hut with no windows and a lot of cobwebs - not something that can double up as a summerhouse or a modest chalet!"

Suppliers updated

Some more garden office/shed suppliers which I've come across.

Create-Space
Gem Build
Eco Space Studios
The Qube

As always, links to their sites will also feature in the right hand column and I'll review them in more detail soon.

What homeworking is really all about...

Choosing a shed – treehouse garden offices

On a related theme, this week we look at the ultimate home office environment, the treehouse shed. And all you need is a good strong tree, preferably one with deep roots such as an oak, chestnut or apple rather than shallower ones such as sycamore. Treesheds themselves are usually built of more modest woods including Radiata Pine, and Canadian or Scandinavian Redwood.

An office with a view - and you do get a marvellous view - is not cheap and a good-sized one from leading supplier The Treehouse Company could set you back £40,000. Founder John Harris has built all sorts, even with what must be quite a worrying extra, log burning stoves. You’ll pay a similar price for a treeshed from specialists Blue Forest whose work is pictured above, but it does come with heating, lighting, broadband and phone lines, and a small kitchen. It also has a veranda for those Hemingway moments.

You can of course selfbuild if you’re feeling confident, but remember that while the views are better the higher you place your treeshed, the wind speed is greater too so working in a storm could be a bit hairy. For some practical pointers there is some useful information online at The Treehouse Guide.

If a treeshed is not a realistic possibility, you could always settle for a laptop in a hammock.

Working in woodland sheds

Not all shedworkers are bashing away at a computer keyboard in their back gardens. Smallwoods, the quarterly magazine from the marvellous Smallwoods Association, has an interesting feature in the new autumn issue on planning permission for sheds in woodland. Sadly, it’s not online so I’ve extracted the most relevant sections. To prevent this being an unreadably long post – and to add a frisson of excitement – I’ll post in several parts every day this week.

“Denny Herzenstein has restored a pond in his woodland. ‘You do need planning permission to create a new pond but not to restore one that already exists. You are not allowed to erect any building in your woodland (even a small tool shed) without first notifying the local council’

“Denny’s woodland is semi-natural ancient woodland within a designated AONB. He restored a pond that had been neglected for very many years and erected a 6x8ft tool shed (which he thought was well hidden) without first notifying the local council. It wasn’t long before the council discovered the developments and told him he would have to apply for retrospective planning permission for both…

“‘Under the Town & Country Planning Permitted Development Order 1995 it is possible to erect a building that is ‘reasonably necessary’ for forestry, e.g. a tool store without planning permission, as long as certain conditions are met. However you must still apply in writing to the council prior to the development giving full details of your proposal, and the council may impose a requirement to approve the specific siting, design, materials, external appearance, etc, before allowing the development to begin.

“‘It did seem somewhat absurd completing a detailed planning application for a small garden shed hidden deep in a wood, far from any public view and bolted simply onto sleepers lying on the ground. The application has to show the design from every elevation; it’s precise location in the wood (including a scale drawing that goes all the way to the public road – several hundred metres away in my case); and a scale drawing of the whole wood that is supposed to show every tree! Obviously not possible , but I did as best I could!’

“The council have granted Denny Herzenstein a temporary five-year permission. They will not grant more for a building that is considered a temporary structure, and the permission is only valid while Denny owns the land.”

To be continued tomorrow…

Do it yourself shed blog

If you’d like to work in a shed but would rather go down the self-build route, and in particular want to make it environmentally friendly, take a look at an interesting new blog at Shedhead. I’ll be reporting back on its progress over the coming months as will The Shed magazine.

Most shedworkers buy their home office from a specialist company and only a few brave individuals build their own. But there is a third way. US-based Cedarshed Industries has launched the first home office flatpack kit, rather understatedly called the Ultimate Backyard Office. It measures 10’x12’ and comes with a smashing 9’x9’ deck and pre-shingled roof panels, pre-hung PVC Euroline doors and windows, and all the necessary bits and bobs including fairly detailed instructions. The free-standing shed, which costs around £8,000, is made of western red cedar and can be assembled in a day, though you’ll probably wonder why you still have two slats and eight screws left over. For more details go to their web site here.

This is the last post this week as I’ll be out of the country at the First International Conference of Shedworkers in Valencia until next Monday. Hasta pronto!