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For an a2a system, yes definitely. For a2w I'd recommend provisioning for it if it's not too difficult, but in practice I'd always run the water flow temperature above dew point so the condensate is not needed (and actually just creates a liability of drying out and creating bad smells)

Define "effective". If you leave then running long enough, and ideally predict very hot weather and "get ahead" by starting cooling before the house is already overheating, they're extremely effective. It's what I use, and would happily specify in any build I'm doing the controls for. (But, i know i can do the work to make the home automation keep on top of the cooling demand. You don't *need* automation for this, but it takes a bit more proactive user intervention. I can't rely on the occupier being so diligent, and they may also do stupid things like leave shading up and open the windows when the outside temperature is hotter than inside) If you're more into waiting until it's unbearable then smashing the A/C into max, you need a2a AC.

Razor wire? Would snag their clothing (and flesh) to stop them falling and they're unlikely to try it again (unless they're a Darwin Award contender).

Agree, we had four different Planning Officers from Pre-App to final Decision (and I think all of them were only part time, 2-3 days/week). I'd also add that, from the perspective of someone suffering planning over the last 18 months, I'd say the biggest issue is trust and confidence in the system. No amount of 'full stack' back office tools, 'resource efficiency', or 'feedback tools' are going to change this (I'm quoting management phrases from the MHCLG Digital website here...). Trying to have a discussion with anyone in the planning department was almost impossible - it's almost as if the Council had a 'no communications' policy (they certainly don't publish an Org Chart of names/telephone numbers). I applaud any efforts to improve the system but I think focusing almost exclusively on tech (as this initiative seems to be doing) is probably not the best way forward. Talk to people face to face, don't 'guide them through a set of tasks'.

Yes that's all happening just now. Dry stuff as you say.

I also don’t buy in to this need to ‘protect’ our countryside. The country is largely empty once you get of London/SE and I’ve read stats which indicate that 97% of the country is not built upon. What exactly are we protecting and more importantly, at what cost? Younger generations can’t afford to buy or move anywhere as all the existing stock is overpriced, precisely because new stock is so hard to come by or build in the first place.

Catch22 situation - developers or private companies won’t provide services unless there’s enough population in a place to warrant the investment. The demand won’t be there if developers aren’t allowed to build houses for people to move in. You get stuck in a doom loop where everyone expects this to be magically funded from a non existent pot.

Didn't Manchester have huge developments of 1 and 2 bed city homes that stayed empty for ages. It is impossible to design a town really. Towns grew to take advantage of local resources i.e. rivers, agriculture, mines. Apart from agriculture, which is low labour these days, most of our industry and commerce is 'mobile'. We don't have the same need for towns and cities anymore.

Not sure if its the dame for BC but for planning we just showed them a bill for the existing suppy. The Openreach online system is not fit for purpose for private builders. We had a really frustrating time trying to get an additional supply to a site that already has fibre. From my experience, you'll get no sense out of Openreach's India offices until you agree to pay whatever random figure they come up with (that random figure for us was £12k - with no details as to what the work entailed!) Once you have agreed to pay the random figure, you have 30 days to do so or they just invalidate the contract. However, once you've agreed to that then you will be allocated a local Supply Engineer who can visit the site and talk sense. They can then work within the system to actually achieve a solution. A completely stupid, back to front situation but that's Openreach for you.

I'd just tell them it's already there because it's an existing dwelling and ask whether they need more info. If it's listed on one of the broadband checker sites, you could include a screenshot of what's available at your address.

How do I put this forward to building control that we already have fibre broadband at the site?

Yes and as we have just retired, that is a thought starting to concern us, what happens if we are no longer able to drive? BUT living in our rural idyll a big part of the attraction is we know that no large scale building will be allowed so it will remain nice.

We are in the same position, with the fibre available from a pole across the road for free. To a site that we demolished and rebuilt. But I didn't want the fibre coming from a pole the other side of the road. There is a pole on our side of the road (connected to the pole on the opposite side of the road) about 50 yards away that feeds our neighbours houses. I registered on the open reach site and paid the (approx) 300 quid fee as a new site. Engineer came out and offered to lay a trench from the pole on our side of the road along the grass in the visibility splay and across the neighbours drive and up to our boundary for (approx) 400 quid. For me this was a really good and not outrageously expensive solution to get the cable in through a conduit instead of overhead. Open-reach will often fit a pole on your side of the road for free but I preferred the trench dug across the neighbours drive option. We don't speak to that neighbour who is insanely precious about his house and boundary. Open reach haven't dug the trench across his drive yet so this is an added bonus to look forward to.

@Ommm, before I dive in to switching my HP to cooling, did you manage to get this running properly? Any further lessons learned?

I don't agree. Social and affordable housing us needed. In towns and cities, not the countryside. What we get is suburbia in the countryside, without services or transport.... or water. This is driven by developers. These are bought by emigrating townspeople and country locals still can't afford to stay. Alright I do agree that change is needed.

You know most of it because it is mainstream thought now. Factories are more efficient than craft works. Collaborate. Maintain networks. Wikipedia for a quick cram, then you'll be able to drop it into conversation too.

I’d argue the thing that needs the most immediate reform is the Town and Country planning act, that holds development back to a rosy picture of what Britain looked like in the 50s. Any development or attempt to modernise is viewed with hostility by both the planners and local residents who have far too much power. Of course, a reform to that needs strong political will and therefore political change to start with. So far, none of the parties have any concrete ideas on how to deal with this outside of empty slogans like Build build build etc…

It's a big issue in the countryside everywhere. No new housing should be allowed without public transport. We get older, may be alone. An option if you have a community, is a minibus to town or to where a bus can be caught. Obv it costs money but that could come from high charges for planning gain (S106 etc) or from levies on wind and solar locally, with a ring-fenced fund and conditions. I've seen village signs in the Highlands asking for drivers.

Hasn’t it always been like this though? Struggling to find a place that achieves the perfect balance - while still being affordable. There are places that offer a perfect balance of suburbia while still being close enough to town, walkable from schools, train stations, GPs, hospitals and supermarkets within easy reach (say local bus services that run regularly), have playgrounds and facilities for kids and teens, interesting architecture and well maintained streets. The only problem is that everyone wants to live in those places and therefore prices are significantly higher as a result.

I'm not even opening the links as am suspicious. You are appointed by some councils? Which? On what basis? You will provide a voucher? What for? That sounds suspicious. What status will any responses have? Who are cogworx? Do they know you are doing this? And more detail while you are at it.

I gave up on city life as soon as I could. Probably not helped by the fact we lived on one of the main roads into Oxford and almost constant traffic noise was my main gripe, at rush hour it would be almost stationary crawling past the house. And when a bus stopped at the bus stop outside it's throbbing engine made the single glazed windows rattle. We had a driveway often not accessible because people ignored double yellows and parked across it. Having a driveway and garage (or space to build a garage) has always been a "must have" It was only my very first shoe box house that didn't as I simply needed to buy anything I could as prices were rising so fast. House No 2 onwards achieved that. It would be good to have a bus service from our rural idle, we have one bus a day here so no choice of time and only good for a short shopping trip less than 2 hours before the return bus. No good whatsoever for someone hoping to use it to get to work.

That’s me fiddling with the inverter settings during World Cup matches. Only installed a few weeks ago, I am sure the novelty will wear off.

I lived in Milton Keynes for a few months. It was a great place. I lived in Basildon when I was a kid, never thought that it was a bad place. I also lived on the outskirts of Canterbury, nice place. Witney was alright to, though I was a couple of miles out. Penn was dreadful, but I was a late teen then, so everything was terrible. Bournemouth was great, but I was a student. Aylesbury was very run down when I moved there, but had everything I needed at the time. Abbots Langley was good, for a small place. Now I live in a dreadfully run down place, but have been here longer than anywhere else. While my house is pretty shit, the A30 is only 2 minutes away and that means I can get to places quickly. The sea is only 4 minutes drive away, or half hour walk. I struggle to know what I want when it comes to knowing where to live. I like the idea of some isolation, but I want convenience and culture of larger towns. The one thing that is pushing me more to rural is, oddly enough, cars. As we electrify transport, I will need a decent drive/garage. These only come at a premium price in towns.

Mildly confusing, so which one is it? Are you having a floor covering? More info and less ambiguity please!

30mm support strip? Erm, “No”. You install a DPC and use XPS against the inner face of the outer leaf. Use a semi dry concrete mix, topped with a layer of Marmox backer board, and then the concrete can take it’s tome to fully cure behind that shield. Do as uncle Nick says, and stop faffing about, please. Less yapping, more mixing and laying, as this can all be finished and done by 5pm tonight. Zero damp will pull up as you’ll be replacing (and reinforcing) your DPC/M with these works. FYI, your above ‘new’ plan is crap, sorry. My thumb is slowly wearing down, so heed, or don’t heed, up to you squire.