FAQs

The simple answer is the shepherd’s hut itself doesn’t need planning permission, it’s what you are doing with it that may do.

As the shepherd’s hut structure is on wheels and is portable the answer is often no. But any change of use of the land that the huts stand upon may need planning permission. Planning permission guidelines can be found online. Local plan policy is a good starting point if you do need planning permission, as if your project falls within the local plan that is a positive thing. In the curtilage of the house, and if the enjoyment of the hut is incidental to the enjoyment of the main dwelling then you don’t need planning permission. So if the hut is near the house, and you go out to the hut to paint, play the guitar, have friends to stay then that is all incidental to the enjoyment of the main dwelling. The test of ‘has a material change of use occurred’ is a good question to ask. If a hut is placed on an agricultural field, and it becomes a holiday let then planning permission would officially be needed. There is a permanency question too; can the hut be moved without large machinery? Yes it can, so it isn’t seen as a permanent structure. But if your hut has plumbing connected to the drain or septic tank (perhaps for a glamping venture) then it could be seen as being less portable – and if services such as septic tanks are needed then the Environment Agency will have guidelines for that, protecting watercourses. Whilst we have delivered many shepherds huts to National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including the Lake District, the Peak District, Dartmoor, the New Forest and the Black Mountains in Wales it is worth running the idea past them first.

Yes, the shepherd’s hut is built using modern timber frame house techniques, and can be used all year round. The 75mm / 3″ timber frame is completely sheathed in structural OSB 2, wrapped in breather membrane, insulated with British Thermafleece sheep’s wool, and lined with vapour barrier which contributes to a comfortable, warm and dry environment. The internal wall lining is very stable V grooved sheet material, achieving the look of traditional match-boarding with no knots or shrinkage.  It takes paint extremely well. Like with many things there are lots of magic ingredients that go into the hut build that makes it a cut above the rest.

No, we tailor each delivery to the needs of the location. Whether a crane is required to lift your hut into place, or you have limited access down a narrow country lane, for example, no two deliveries will be the same. Do get in touch to discuss delivery options, costs and other logistics with our experienced and knowledgeable team. 

As overseas enquiries have increased, our knowledgeable team have become adept at answering questions about shipping and solving any logistical issues related to terrain. As a result, there are few places in the world that we are now unable to reach. From sorting out insurance and booking your hut on to the ship, to taking it off at the other end and finding a haulage company with the correct equipment to deliver it to its final destination, we will ensure every step of the journey is as smooth and trouble-free as possible.

Years of hut making (we made our first hut over two decades ago) and having delivered many huts around the UK, Europe and even the USA this amounts to unrivalled experience, which we channel into every hut build. Plankbridge is at the forefront of the shepherd’s hut revival. Commentators have said that this was really triggered by our appearance on BBC TV Countryfile in 2011 with John Craven, and then our Artisan shepherd’s hut garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2012 which featured in many design-led magazines in the UK and around the World. We remain strongly influenced by the best Victorian hut makers, whose craftsmanship and design informs the contemporary huts we make today. Our furniture makers have worked in some of the famous Dorset workshops, and we treat each hut as if it were in effect a large piece of furniture, a cabinet on wheels! Richard trained at international furniture designer John Makepeace’s Hooke Park College back in the early ’90’s, which at the time was geared to training ‘entrepreneurs in wood’. We are also very keen on the Arts and Crafts philosophy of John Ruskin and William Morris, and have spent many years building a happy team and nurturing apprentice hut makers. We are the only shepherd’s hut makers to be endorsed by the RHS – the Royal Horticultural Society (the RHS) in recognition of our quality and experience.

Richard went to what was Hooke Park College during the Parnham era, (which is now an architectural college). He ended up with an MSc in Forest Product Technology (design and manufacture), linked to Bournemouth University. Hooke was a great experience, if a little unusual. Richard saw it as a monastery of woodwork, spending two and a bit years in the woods on top of a hill in West Dorset. Students benefited from a wide range of impressive visiting lecturers who were the best in their fields of business studies, design and making.  It was mainly about the freedom to experiment in all aspects of timber design, from building to furniture to sculpture. Interestingly there are three regular trade exhibitors at the world famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show who, including Plankbridge, are Hooke Park alumni.

Corrugated iron is a wonderful traditional cladding material which has an industrial feel and is visually appealing. Corrugated iron was invented around 1850, and coincided with the heyday of the Victorian shepherd’s hut. We see them as intrinsically linked. It is lower maintenance than wood and extremely durable. However the feather edge weatherboard is an alternative. In oak it can be left natural to weather to a silver grey, or painted. Traditionally this was black, as they used to finish the cladding on buildings in a black tar which looks great, particularly in some parts of the country like Norfolk, Suffolk and Kent where buildings and shepherd’s huts were often pitched or ‘blackjacked’.

We don’t offer shepherd’s hut kits. Whilst it could be possible to bundle the materials onto a shepherd’s hut chassis and leave it someone else we would much rather build complete shepherd’s huts and cabins for our customers. For us a hut is similar to a piece of furniture, albeit a large one, and we wouldn’t want to deliver a kitchen or a dining table in the form of planks of wood with a bag of bolts and screws.

Yes, we usually have one or two of our shepherd’s huts available for immediate delivery, generally configured in our most popular layouts. Do get in touch, you might be lucky.

All prices given and delivery services are subject to the applicable rate of UK VAT. The exact rate depends on whether your hut has the attributes of a dwelling. If the hut is longer than 7 metres, wider than 2.55 metres and has a bathroom, kitchen and bed, it will be subject to 5% VAT. If the hut does not meet the criteria for living accommodation, in the case of our Standard Snug, for example, it is subject to 20% VAT. Please get in touch with our friendly team if you would like further information.