Temp

Tesco said today that no-deal taxes would push up the price of some French cheese like brie by 40%. They say it might persuade us to eat more Cheddar but I think quite a bit of that comes from Ireland. Apparently the Irish have been stockpiling cheese in the UK in case of a no deal Brexit. Tesco have also said they expect food bills to be 5% higher 8f there is no deal.

BBC News covered the port crisis tonight. Only a day after you read about it here first ? They mentioned some building materials had been offloaded in Roterdam because ships didn't want to wait for access to Felixstowe.

Some people have managed to get PP to live onsite where the nature of their business requires it. I remember one case involved a charcoal burner However councils are wise to this as a ploy. They may require evidence in the form of a multi year business plan that shows the business is viable and produces sufficient income. They have been known to grant temporary PP to see if the plan is met. Fail and you loose PP. A lot of planning on your part would be required before you even approach the planners. Their definition of a sustainable development isn't what you might think. They want to know if existing public services can be accessed so they don have to provide new. They may want to know there are spaces at the nearest school even if you don't have kids. That's because you could sell your "house" to someone's that does.

More https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54989299

Looks like our ports are already starting to struggle. Partly due to companies trying to beat the Brexit deadline, partly due to lack of space, partly higher traffic volumes. This has been ongoing since October. Honda may have to stop production.. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55230469 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54908129 Also causing issues on the rail network.. https://theloadstar.com/congestion-problems-at-uk-ports-stacking-up-as-rising-imports-drive-delays/

https://www.imsheatpumps.co.uk/blog/are-heat-pumps-noisy/#:~:text=Depending on the system%2C quality,metre away from the unit. I thinking that installing one at the side of a house might make things worse because the noise will reflect off the walls of your house. Might be better to put them in a rear garden?

I just looked at the data sheet for a gas boiler (Worcester Bosch Greenstar 25-30 Si Compact) and it quotes 52 dB(A) sound power level indoors. I guess its different when its your own noise.

A desk fan blowing on the area will help speed up the drying process but don't let it fool you. It will dry the surface quickly making you think its done but there will still be quite a bit of water hiding in the wall. I'd give it a few months before repainting. Then you might consider painting it with Zinsser Primer Sealer (@ Screwfix) before applying a regular emulsion. I'm not sure which is better, the Zinsser BIN (Shellac based) or the Zinsser 123 (water based) but Zinsser paint is darn good where there is any damp. I'm using their paint over a shower that causes water drops to form on the ceiling.

I thought i'd see if HMRC considered a caravan could be a Principle Private Residence for CGT relief but it seems the answer is unclear.. https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/taxsource/1997/en/act/pub/0039/cl/sec0604-1-cl.html If its not a PPR then what about the CIL... I haven't looked at the exact wording of the legislation but found.. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/community-infrastructure-levy#para082 Lots of unanswered questions im afraid.

I would normally agree, but its a conversion so footings and slab foundations were already there? Perhaps ask them to put a small (20mm?) plastic pipe through the wall as well so later on you can put an electric cable through it for a pipe heating element/tape. Not necessarily one of these makes but there are plenty of similar products for protecting exposed pipes.. https://www.ezeheat.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5bz-BRD-ARIsABjT4nhJ9KM__Pa68L3YG5PbQMB56syRx9hvOf2t7Z7agebxWHU54EaakWUaAoQdEALw_wcB https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Cable_Index/Heat_Tape/index.html?ad_position=&source=adwords&ad_id=396625263039&placement=&kw=heat tape for pipes&network=g&matchtype=b&ad_type=&product_id=&product_partition_id=&campaign=ROAS_Cable&version=finalurl_v3&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5bz-BRD-ARIsABjT4ngBn6yw39V_PYGehf27oL9pZrXuzETw-8mDqq95Lz7OwjI9qRNOwG4aAi4vEALw_wcB https://www.traceheatinguk.co.uk/trace-heating-products You wind them around the pipe before covering in insulation. Protect insulation from rodents with a suitable metal box/brick/stone enclosure.

Interesting question. Caravans are on the list of things a self builder can't claim for but presumable because they are thinking of builders vans or because they aren't normally "incorporated into a dwelling". Under C here.. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/goods-and-services-you-can-claim-for-under-the-vat-diy-scheme I also found this on the VAT treatment of a Caravan.. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-treatment-of-caravans-and-houseboats-notice-70120 So my guess is their instinct would be to refuse a claim under the Self Build Reclaim Scheme if it is a caravan. So what might happen if you too it to a tribunal? Well in general the self build reclaim scheme attempts to put us in the same position as a VAT registered builder. A Vat Registered Builder of Caravans can zero rate a caravan provided it meets certain rules such as.. I would hope tribunal would see it as unfair self builders cannot reclaim the VAT but who knows.

Is it, or should it be, a human right to be able to vote for the people that govern you? After Brexit EU citizens resident in the UK can continue to vote in UK elections and even run as candidates. By contrast the British that live and work across the channel (Many of which only ever planned to work there temporarily and still have houses in the UK) weren't allowed to vote in the Brexit Referendum and won't be able to elect MPs here. If they live and work in France they can't vote there either. Only (?) Spain, Luxembourg and Portugal are allowing British nationals resident in their country to vote. Some of these Brits were more or less forced to move abroad because Brexit stopped us selling financial services in the EU and their companies moved offices to the EU.

Well they were once.. https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/westminster-news/yougov-poll-on-brexit-support-6353568

In a CA you dont need PP for an outbuilding if its in the back garden. You do if at the side of the house.

At least they paint over the rot.

Have we been any different to them? The media has been making up stories about imaginary EU "bans" like the one on bendy bananas for decades. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/en/media/euromyths/bendybananas.html

When the EU Common Fisheries Policy was introduced (1983?) they based it on previous years catches. Basically it fixed things at 1978 levels. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/17/catches-quotas-and-communities-the-key-fisheries-issues-at-stake

Two other things occur to me.. You have a down pipe that appears to be on their side of the boundary. Where is it collecting water from? Is the boundary the face of your wall or a few inches out from the wall? Frequently this is a grey area not clearly defined in the deeds or anywhere. Things like pipes are only meant to overhang the boundary with written permission of the other owner but builders of estates and old houses never bothered to document this sort of thing. It wasn't a big deal years ago. The land registry title drawings aren't usually definitive. Just beware that it might come up in any discussion you have with the neighbour. If there isn't a surface water drain on their side of the fence they might want to connect a new box gutter into your down pipes. You could allow that but a more expensive/better option might be to allow them to run a 110mm pipe below ground across the boundary so they can have a downpipe on their side into gulley at ground level. I think that would look better (more normal) to a future buyer of either property.

That looks like a can of worms. Have the slates on their garage roof been painted with something? A new junction/gutter between the two buildings will need careful design and implementation so as not to make things worse. You don't really want some cowboy doing a bodge job. If you want to look up drawings yourself google "parapet gutter". I reckon a common problem is making them undersized (not deep enough or wide enough) so they can't collect all the water running down the roof in a downpour, especially if partly blocked. There must all so be an adequate fall along the length of the gutter. You may/will need to allow them to install a flashing by cutting into your wall. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parapet-gutter.gif Once collected the water can either exit via a bottom outlet into a downpipe or out one end into a hopper/downpipe. This drawing shows one with an overflow weir if the down pipe can't cope. In this picture it looks like the gutter is just open at the near end or perhaps the end has fallen off.

There is some speculation that a deal has just been agreed on fishing. Some reports say it has, other that it hasn't. Farage is already saying e thinks Boris may have given in on the issue. I'm waiting to hear if any deal has been done on services. The UK has run down manufacturing and built up the service industry in recent decades and I can't see Brexit helping manufacturing unless we get an exceptionally good deal. That really makes our economy more dependant on services.

I can't imagine a worse place to be than a lay-by in Kent after Brexit... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/12/post-brexit-lorry-queues-could-make-kent-toilet-of-england "Post-Brexit lorry queues could make Kent 'toilet of England'"

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-40149257.html Couple awarded €2m for 'life-altering injuries' after exposure to foam insulation chemicals Mr Justice Kevin Cross said he had come to the conclusion beyond any doubt whatsoever that Patrick and Anita Duffy sustained “their life-altering serious injuries as a result of exposure to chemicals.” The probable cause, the judge further found, was the foam that had been injected into the roof. The judge found the insulation foam product itself is “essentially safe” if properly applied with the proper safeguards.

Rush to deport before Brexit makes it harder.. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/dec/06/uk-races-to-deport-asylum-seekers-ahead-of-brexit

Got a link to that? My neighbour has holiday home in France.

On Radio4 they were talking about Macron and Merkel and the fishing rights and accidentally called him President Mackerel.