Is it Possible to Live Permanently in a Tent?

On the theme of Glastonbury, we take a look at some of the more permanent Tents/Tensile structures which have been used to create homes and comment on whether this is really viable?

So it is possible to gentrify a tent to the point where you can live permanently in the structure, as illustrated in this Insider Article illustrating a Family in New Mexico who have done just this. Physically as long as the tent is strong and well constructed, it will withhold a good degree of severe weather conditions, the laws however in England really prohibit this as a viable opportunity. The reality is that a tent is intrinsically a portable structure which can be easily moved and 'pitched' in alternative locations. Planning Laws in the UK generally prohibit permanent structures from being in place for more than 28 days in any single year without planning permission, unless they are pitched in a domestic garden, and then the permitted development rules become applicable.  

Take for example this Tent House, this is effectively a permanent structure which looks like it is pitched in a domestic garden. Not only might this need planning permission, but if it is classed as a permanent structure (and the fully glazed entrance screen really gives the game away) and it is going to stay in place for longer than 2 years it will require full building regulations approval. This would require insulation to walls, floor, roof, ventilation through opening windows, structural calculations to prove the design, and a myriad of other regulations which basically renders the proposal unviable.

The way to create a permanent tent as a real home is illustrated by this new Zealand Company, Structureflex, who have combined a hybrid of materials, including a properly designed structural frame and integrating tensile fabric within the structure, to create a beautiful and elegant domestic space. Not really a tent more of a hybrid and certainly not complying with UK regulations, but certainly illustrating what can be done with poles, pegs and stretched fabric!

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