South coast inflation
The background plotting and scheming continues as I tick items off a never-ending list of stuff whilst I wait for the bat licence to be granted and start demolition of the bungalow. Much of this has involved shopping around for various services that we have to have, such as a soil survey (MBC requirement) and SAP calculations. Other items are for big ticket expenditure such as glazing and cladding.
I live in Bournemouth but the new build is at the other end of the county, in north Dorset. Aside from the obvious differences in scenery and population density I've noticed a very big difference in prices, meaning that the closer you get to the coast, the more expensive they become. This has been apparent on pretty much everything from SAP calculation fees to cladding, with the latter coming in at £58/m2 from a supplier just to the east of Christchurch, but just over £47/m2 from Sydenhams nearest the new place, in Gillingham. I understand that Sydenhams may command more buying power and, thus, better discounts than smaller outfits but a price difference like that equates to over £1000 on the amount that I will need to spend. That's the lion's share of our rainwater storage tanks that are now going on the shopping list thanks to BH finding yet another competitive supplier. It's disappointing that my natural cynisism about the Christchurch/Bournemouth/Poole conurbation is being fed by experiences like this, but I'm sure it's got worse since AFC Bournemouth got promoted into the Premiership.
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