Temp

+1 to the idea of a planning condition although the planners might say one isn't needed because a new planning permission would be required to use it as a balcony.

If you just build it the planners will either ignore it or they won't. If they ignore it all well and good. If not then I reckon their first move will be an informal approach telling you they believe you need Planning Permission. If you keep ignoring them they will have to decide if they want to initiate enforcement action. If they feel strongly they will probably write a scary letter that talks about initiating enforcement action if not rectified by some date. At that point I reckon it would be pointless submitting an application for a Certificate of Lawfulness because their letter will state their reasons why they believe PP is required. Once you get that enforcement notice you should file a planning application. That will delay any enforcement action until the planning application and any appeal is processed. If they are extremely concerned and think you are going to do something much worse like create a lorry park or travellers site or tarmac the whole paddock they might hit you with an injunction to stop work. Personally I doubt they would do that as they would risk costs of perhaps £10K. I'm not sure why you cant convert that curving footpath into a driveway? I can see reasons why you might not want to.

Perhaps mention to the neighbour that you are struggling to get planning permission for a 6m single storey extension so you may have to build a 3m two storey extension instead as that wouldn't need planning permission at all. Unfortunately the upstairs windows of a two storey would overlook his garden but what can you do ? I agree with others. You could just apply for planning permission. Cite the similar 6m extensions in the road as examples of what has been considered acceptable previously. Any objection from the neighbour would then have to be a valid planing reason. An objection on the grounds you might put a balcony up there wouldn't count. Find out what else he objected to.

And it must be on the right form.

I think one of the form's has a schedule of everything you need to do to claim and keep the exemption. You aren't 100% safe until three years after completion! There was a case where a couple claimed the exemption and the husband died before the house was completed. Wife finished the house but couldn't face living there. Council pointed out she had to live there for three years or the CIL became payable.

Is this going to be a single or two storey extension?

Within 3 meters the Party Wall Act only applies if you will be digging below the bottom of his foundations. There is no penalty for not complying with the act but should you cause damage to their building and it ends up in court the court might take a dim view and award greater damages. How close are you digging near their outbuilding and what is it? Just a shed? Perhaps make sure you have photos of any pre-existing cracks or other defects. Perhaps stick them in a dated sealed envelope and ask your solicitor to store them? or is that overkill.

It's quite common to employ a builder to construct upto a water tight shell and then contractors to do plumbing and electrics etc. You could also start this way and see how you get on with the builder, if you are happy then discuss him re-quoting to finish the job. Generally employing a builder/prime contractor costs more than hiring trades because the builder is doing the project management instead of you. In my case that project management involved the builder unlocking the site first thing in the day, organising what trades would be doing, tidying up, and sometimes helping trades (eg move materials). He wasn't always onsite the whole day but would return each afternoon to discuss the next day's work with the trades and make sure they would have everything they needed. If not he would either go home via the builders merchants or go via there next day on the way to opening up. The key being not to let trades waste time going themselves or standing idle waiting for materials. Obviously he also had to pay for materials and chase delivery. He also arranged for machine/tool hire where necessary and things like the Building Control Officers visits and warranty inspections.

Make any electrics safe and useable as a temporary supply?

Welcome to the forum.

I believe this thread is partly relevant although it relates to resurfacing an existing road. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/15335-planning-for-tarmac-laying-on-unadopted-road/ The planning officer said resurfacing an existing road could amount to "engineering operations" requiring planning permission. The reference I found below suggest that's not true for an existing road but could apply to a new road or highway access... https://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/lexispsl/planning/document/393788/5J6Y-V7J1-F18C-4292-00000-00/Is_planning_permission_required I don't think those are conflicting... The second part implies Planning Permission is required. The first part implies it would be approved. I would quote the first part back at them in a covering letter with any planning application.

worth a look.. https://www.npt.gov.uk/PDF/landdrainageresponsibilities.pdf

Not sure about Wales but in England there is a thing called Riparian rights... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riparian_water_rights My understanding is that this is a bit like a right of way. If someone has been discharging water onto your land for long enough they acquire a right to keep doing so. Likewise you have a right to keep discharging when it leaves your property via the river. Wikipedia suggests it's your responsibility to deal with it as it crosses your land subject to approval by the agencies...

Think I would look up those references and quote them at the Planning officer. If he doesn't roll over you could hit him with an application for a Certificate of Lawful Development on the grounds PP isn't required and citing those references. Unlike a planning application a CLD should be issued based on law rather than opinion so neighbours don't get to raise objections to a CLD on the grounds of appearance. The down side is there is a fee for a CLD and if they say PP is required you would have to apply for it.

Google suggests repairing or improving a road doesn't count as engineering operations or development. This provides references to the Town and County Planning Act but I've not checked them. My bold... https://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/lexispsl/planning/document/393788/5J6Y-V7J1-F18C-4292-00000-00/Is_planning_permission_required_

PS I believe you can move in a few days after work starts without loosing the "empty for two years" VAT break.

Some other thoughts... Most home insurance doesn't cover empty properties, instead you "have" to take out empty property insurance. Council tax is frequently different for empty properties. HMRC might ask about that. It would be unwise to tell the council it was occupied to save money n council tax, but tell HMRC it was empty to reduce VAT.

I think free insurance is restricted to people on benefits but worth asking.

I was curious how many properties on their site meet that but couldn't figure out how to find any.

This site is out of date (Oct 2019) but it's the best/only one I know for comparing the cost of different fuels. https://nottenergy.com/resources/energy-cost-comparison/ See "Pence per kWh (after boiler efficiency)" column in the table. Note that electricity is (was) 4-5 times the cost of mains gas per kWh unless you use an ASHP or take advantage of a off peak electricity deal of some sort. That's the appeal of storage heaters compared to regular panel heaters.

In the 1960s I grew up in a house with a solid fuel fired heating system. Parents could not wait to get rid of it when gas came along. Glad to be rid of the daily cleaning and regular feeding it needed. I'm not familiar with modern Aga but I read they were intended to be left running all the time which can be a problem in summer. I gather many people have a second cooker for use in summer. There is no mains gas in our village so I went with an oil fired boiler feeding a thermal store and UFH. The thermal store helps stop the boiler short cycling which can be an issue if only one UFH zone is calling for heat. Mainly an issue if you want small zones. Thats because Oil boilers can't modulate down their burner like a gas boiler. They can only reduce output by switching the burner on and off which I liken to stop start driving a car in traffic. Our store has a high power heat exchanger on the side giving us mains pressure DHW for a large rain style shower and body jets. Great flow rate which was also an objective. In theory it's a nice idea if your wood burner can heat your DHW but if your house is well insulated even a small wood burner can be too powerful to use regularly. Our two are mostly only used at Christmas so we didn't bother with back boilers and the complication that adds. For cooking we opted for a dual fuel range from Britannia. It's got an electric oven and 6 ring gas hob on a pair of 47kg calor gas cylinders. Cylinder gas is too expensive for heating but ok for cooking as you use so little. A cylinder lasts us at least 18 months (family of four). Very happy with the way this works and would go this route again. So my recommendation would be to keep it simple.. Oil boiler feeding thermal store and UFH Dual fuel range cooker on cylinders if you like gas hobs. Wood burners for heat only. Others might disagree.

https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/all-planning-permissions-extended-until-april-2021

Just checking you are aware of the VAT issue if you let them out... https://www.isurv.com/info/390/features/11494/taxation_vat_costs_of_building_to_rent I think the solution is to sell the development to another company you own which then lets them out but best seek advice.

Would be interesting to know what exactly they provide for the £390. Is it some sort of insurance policy?

Companies can take out advance payment insurance (aka Credit Insurance, Supplier default insurance) but I don't know if individuals can. My understanding is the insurance co has to investigate the company in order to work out how much premium to charge and that research costs. There are likely to be minimum premium values. Google finds brokers. I guess you can ask them. https://www.credit-insure.co.uk/credit-insurance/types-of-credit-insurance-policy/advanced-payment-protection/ https://www.eulerhermes.co.uk/trade-credit-insurance/solutions/advanced-payment-protection.html