Temp

Sorry if you know this but just be careful not to start any work on site until you have formally claimed the CIL exemption using the right forms and got it confirmed. Its not enough just to have the planners tell you that you will be exempt, it must be claimed correctly or you can find yourself liable to pay it.

Find a free web site that will convert a pdf to an image. Edit the image in a free 2D image app like Paint.net (bit old). Convert back to pdf. Should take about an hour.

I purchased an 18V Ryobi strimmer and I'm afraid it lacks the power needed to cut grass. Slows down too much. Took it apart and the motor appears to be a cheap ferrite 775 size motor. I'm going to replace the motor with a brushless rare earth magnet motor from an RC plane 🙂

Do a compression check. I find the cheaper brands eventually score the bore or loose compression one way or another and it's this that makes them hard to start. Once the compression is gone you might as well throw them out. If the compression is ok then it might be worth getting it serviced or just fit a new plug and try new fuel. I ended up breaking the bank to get a Stihl 4 stroke after killing a few different makes.

As I recall there are also rules about a change of use being continuous or not and if that resets the 10(?) year clock. I suspect that simply being "between tenants" due to a change of ownership might not amount to a break in continuity but anything more significant (such as a few years use as a home office) might do.

They do exactly that when it suits them. They generally won't give advice on any transactions you might be considering in advance, only afterwards when it might be too late.

Im sure many companies delayed their appeals mid process hoping they would stand more chance of approval after the election. As expected some areas have had their housing targets dramatically increased so it was probably a good decision.

This is my thinking. Go for hob with oven below. Move fridge to left hand wall. Possibly small "island" on castors, normally against the wall?

That might be more of an issue than the height. The rules say its not permitted development if.. I think I would measure your plot carefully and draw up calculations that show its exactly 50%. Mark up a site plan if you have one. The planners might check your dimensions so don't go adding 1m to one dimension. Instead add a small amount to all of them, subtract a small amount from the dimensions of your house etc if he wants to measure it offer to hold one end of the tape 🙂 The 30sqm issue is a Building Control issue not a planning issue. The 30sqm figure is the internal area. If that's over 30sqm you need Building Control Approval. Remeasure it. If its less than 30sqm on the inside wait and see if the Planner asks about Building control approval. If he does tell him its not needed as its under 30sqm inside. I assume there are no bedrooms inside and that it's more than 1 meter from the boundary or made from substantially non combustible materials.

Looks fake to me. Why would the neighbour film the conversation anyway? You don't always need Planning Permission for a side extension.

Isnt that part of a system normally isolated from the cold main?

Water isn't compressible so any pressure you have in the system with the stopcock is off is effectively maintained by stretch in the pipework which isn't much. In short you don't have to loose much water to loose pressure, especially if there is no expansion vessel. It could be as little as a dripping tap or WC. Temperature changes will also affect the pressure when off.

Unfortunately a lot of industries need people that are flexible due to the nature of the projects they do. I was in the electronics industry but only speant about 10% of my time doing electronics design. Had to do everything from designing labels to writing manuals and production related documents. The most valuable team members were the ones that would/could turn their hand to anything, especially if/when there had to be redundancies. Being good at everything might help if you fancy becoming a site manager or even setting up your own building Co.

When we were doing our due diligence for our plot in 2005 we spoke to companies about the electric connection and a 4" water main diversion. Both routes were across the plot and grass verge, none involved a road crossing. Both suggested budgeting about £100 a meter. As I recall the electric ended up a bit cheaper but the water main diversion was a bit more. The water company were so inefficient though. Some days the team turned up, waited around for the digger and were told it was needed elsewhere. The work was done in 2007 and I doubt it's got a lot cheaper. If building again I'd definitly look at doing more ourselves to try and save but I've heard some people have had ridiculous quotes when they asked for them to be split into contestable and noncontestable.

Im not an SE but my understanding is that a ridge beam (as distinct from a ridge board) is intended to support a lot of the weight of the roof when it can't be triangulated to stop the walls being pushed out. The roof partly "hangs" from the beam. To make that work you tie the two rafters together above the beam with metal plates. Google found this image but I would check with your designer.

ChatGPT says.. I asked if there were any specific connectors to check and it said.. Disconnect power first though!

It's working now but you may have to scroll down a few pages. Looks like they are pausing their draft local plan. Eg no point submitting a draft for approval if it will be rejected because the target number of new houses has been increased (doubled).

If you had to pay someone to do it all I've be using a figure of about £100 a meter which would be £22k. Thought I would ask ChatGPT and it suggested... 35-50mm^2 copper Cable: £3,300 - £6,600 Trenching & Installation: £8,100 - £14,000 Total Estimate: £11,400 - £20,600 Of the Trenching & Installation it thought conduit and back fill would be £30-£50 per meter and labour would be £1500 to £3000. Not sure I agree with its breakdown but you also have a road to cross?

Why hasn't the seller got Planning Permission themselves? That would push up the value of the plot.

+1 TP might not be the cheapest but they used to offer free delivery on some items (within 12 miles?).

Has there been a change in the regs because I thought they always had 10 years to enforce a change of use?

But is it legal use?

Unfortunately the planners have 10 years to initiate enforcement action when an unauthorized change of use has occurred. If he or the previous owner have used it as a worship for nearly 10 years I would wait and meanwhile collect up as much evidence as possible. When you have good evidence file for a certificate of lawfulness on the grounds that they cannot initiate enforcement action. They will try and prove the breech didn't occur until more recently by looking at street view or satellite images. So be sure you can prove it. Letters from a neighbour or previous owner stating facts might help. Rebuilding now would/could attract attention from the planners that might be unwelcome. Typically this is triggered by an upset neighbour complaining. Agricultural buildings can be constructed without Planning Permission in some cases but you would have to show it was necessary for an agricultural business. Some councils will say a farm cannot be a viable agricultural business under a certain size like 7 acres. It's quite possible for the planners to decide the building has no officially sanctioned use.

If it touches the garage it would be considered both a side and rear extension. The most problematic PD rule is is the one that precludes side extensions being more than half the original width of the house and garage. It looks like yours would be about 2/3rds of the width. I think you will need Planning Permission for that reason.

I might be wrong but I thought an LDC had to be granted or refused on objective/factual grounds rather than subjective grounds. Eg It either meets Permitted Development rules or it doesn't. What reasons were given for refusal?