Missing In Action
By AliMcLeod
· 1879 views
So, after a flurry of initial blog posts back in March and April, I went quiet. Real life (home and work) got a bit mental and I just didn't have the time to post more. And, my wife and I have also done a fair bit of reflection on the way forward.
I'd gotten about 2/3 of the way through the journey to where we are today. I've covered finding the plot, and the decision whether to buy it, initial view on wayleaves and servitudes, tweaking the design that came with the plot, clearing tons of mud from the site, issues with the design and selecting a new architect, changing the design to correct the flaws with the previous one and the consequences of that and finally, changing the internal floor plan with the new design.
I was hoping to have more time to fully bring us up to date - as I said in my original post, I'm finding this post-documentation of the process quite cathartic - but that is looking unlikely, so thought I'd do a few summary posts covering the major events not yet covered (in no particular order):
- It was found out the 3 foot diameter high pressure oil and gas pipeline that ran through the border of our plot and the neighbouring plot (with a 3.5m No Build zone either side of the centre line) did not actually run through the border of our plot and the neighbouring plot as per the drawings provided by the builder - it turned out that it actually ran more through our neighbours plot, much to their obvious displeasure and to our obvious relief. It still don't understand how this was not identified during the purchases process for either of us.
- The fun of working with planning and their seemingly arbitrary ability to change their minds and make decisions based on what seems to be purely subjective opinions
- A restructuring at the company I worked for meant that my role was no longer required in the UK - I had the option of either moving to a similar role in the US or taking redundancy. My wife cares for her seriously ill mother so the former was not an option...
- The builder we had lined up to perform the build (and who had been contracted by our neighbour to complete their build) went into liquidation, with a significant number of creditors
- We had (and are still having) great challenges in getting agreement on a foundation design that works for a build on the sloping site, that does not put undue load onto the pipeline and that is not prohibitively expensive. eg. £40K for a proposed sheet piling solution - that was in addition to the costs of foundations
- The need (or not) for a Principal Designer (this took place before the excellent thread on the subject on this forum)
- Understanding our responsibilities and, perhaps more importantly, our rights, under the Deed of Servitude that exists over the plot in favour of the pipeline owner
- And finally, and most pertinently, that we're seriously considering just sitting on the plot for now, and coming back to it in a number of years when life is a little less complex (is it ever?)
I'll look to cover the above in the next few days.
But before I go, I have had small snatches of time where I've been able to read sections of the forum, and I'd like to reiterate what others have said: this place is a brilliant resource and is frequented by an immense number of people who are willing to help others by sharing their knowledge and experience. I have already learned so much, and for that I thank you.
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